Understanding internet gaming disorder in 13 to 17 year-old adolescents: An investigation of gaming cognitions, dysfunctional beliefs, self-esteem, and psychological symptoms

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is defined as a psychological disorder by international health organizations. The adolescense is considered a developmental risk factor for the emergence of psychological disorders. It is critical to understand how this relationship occurs in order to develop effective intervention methods for IGD, which is known to be highly comorbid with mood and anxiety disorders. The main purpose of the current study is to examine the serial mediation effects of self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs, and gaming cognitions in the relationship between psychological symptoms and IGD. The study's sample consisted of 246 high school students aged 13 to 17. The measurement tools used in this direction are as follows: Demographic Information Form, Internet Gaming Disorder Scale, Gaming Cognitions Scale, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale Shortened Turkish Form, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale. Independent samples t-test, ANOVA, correlation and serial mediation analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. According to the findings, it was determined that IGD was more common among males and other psychological disorders were more common among females. In addition, the level of IGD differed significantly according to the time spent playing games. It was found that the serial mediation effect of self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs and game cognitions was significant in the relationship between IGD and major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, OCD. As a result, it was seen that the evaluations of the person towards him/herself, his/her environment, and games interact with each other, and this interaction sheds light on understanding the relationship between the psychological problems accompanying IGD. The findings were discussed in terms of the nature of the disorders themselves. It is believed that this study contributes to explaining the cognitive formulation of IGD observed in adolescence.