Evaluation of the relationship between coping, resilience and perceived stress in adolescents with internet gaming disorder

Aim: In this study,it is aimed to evaluate the relationship between the coping, resilience and perceived stress in adolescents with IGD. Method: Sixty adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 who scored 50 or more on the Young Internet Addiction Scale and met the diagnosis of IGD according to the DSM-V diagnostic criteria were included in the study as a case group after informing about the study and obtaining consent. The control group included 60 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 who volunteered fort he study and were 50 points below the Young Internet Addiction Scale. Implementing Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children (KID-SADS-PL) as a semi-structured diagnostic interview and psychiatric evaluation, DSM-V diagnoses of all participants were determined. Sociodemographic Data Form, Child and Adolescent Resilience Scale-12, Perceived Stress Scale, Coping Strategies Short Form (Brief COPE), Children's Depression Scale and Childhood Anxiety Screening Scale were also performed. Results: In our study, the problem-focused coping subdimension total score and all subscale scores of this subdimension were found to be significantly lower in adolescents diagnosed with IGD compared to healthy adolescents. Dysfunctional coping subdimension and the total scores of this dimension's expression of emotion, behavioral distancing, distraction, denial and self-blame were found to be significantly higher in adolescents diagnosed with IGD than in the healthy control group. It was determined that adolescents diagnosed with IGD experienced significantly higher levels of perceived stress than healthy adolescents. When evaluated in terms of resilience, resilience scores were found to be significantly lower in adolescents diagnosed with IGD compared to healthy adolescents. A positive correlation was found between the total score of psychological resilience and problem-focused coping in adolescents diagnosed with IGD. A negative correlation was found between perceived stress and psychological resilience. A negative correlation was found between perceived stress and problem-focused coping, and a positive correlation was found between perceived stress and dysfunctional coping. In our study, it was shown that psychological resilience has a partial mediator role between perceived stress and severity of internet addiction in adolescents diagnosed with IGD. Conclusion: We think that our study will contribute to the literature as it is the first study to evaluate the relationship between the coping, resilience and perceived stress in adolescents with IGD. Adolescents with IGD experience more stress and probably cope with stress by playing games. Adolescents with IGD had higher perceived stress, as they were more likely to cope with stress by dysfunctional coping and less likely to try problem focused coping, particularly those with lower resilience. Interventions for IGD should promote problem focused coping, such as active coping and planning strategies, particularly among those with lower resilience. Key Words: Coping, internet gaming disorder, resilience, stress