Assessing the symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder among college/university students: An international validation study of a self-report

Abstract

The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of a self-report scale for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) symptoms according to the DSM–5 and ICD–11 among 3270 college/university students (2095 [64.1%] females; age mean 21.6 [3.1] years) from different countries worldwide. Croatian, English, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Turkish, and Vietnamese versions of the scale were tested. The study showed that symptoms of IGD could be measured as a single underlying factor among college/university students. A nine item symptom scale following DSM–5, and a short four-item scale representing the main ICD–11 symptoms, had sound internal consistency and construct validity. Three symptom-items were found non-invariant across the language samples (i.e., preoccupation with on-line gaming, loss of interests in previous hobbies and entertainment, and the use of gaming to relieve negative moods). This study provides initial evidence for assessing IGD symptoms among college/university students and will hopefully foster further research into gaming addiction in this population worldwide especially with taking into account language/cultural differences. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 179002]