A comparative study of executive functioning and personality of young adults with alcohol use disorder and internet gaming disorder

Abstract

The present study attempted to compare young adult males with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and their normal counterparts with respect to their Executive Functioning and Personality. A detailed information schedule, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, Game Addiction Scale, Temperament and Character Inventory and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test were administered to males aged 18-32 years with Alcohol Use Disorder, Internet Gaming Disorder and normal healthy males (N=30). Nonparametric statistical analyses were carried out – Kruskal Wallis test for comparing the mean ranks of three groups (AUD, IGD and Control) taken together. The mean ranks of individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder, Internet Gaming Disorder and control group were found to differ significantly with respect to their total number of errors and the number of categories completed in WCST with the IGD group making the least number of errors and completing the highest number of categories followed by the control group and the AUD group. The mean ranks of the three groups differed significantly with respect to their Cooperativeness with the AUD group scoring the lowest followed by the IGD group and the control group. Individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder were to found to perform better in WCST with respect to the Alcohol Use Disorder as well as the control group and the individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder seem to be similar to those with Alcohol Use Disorder based on their Character dimension of Cooperativeness but not Temperament dimensions.