Disentangling the Net of Needs Satisfaction and Gaming Disorder Symptoms in Adult Gamers

Despite the official inclusion of Gaming Disorder (GD) in the International Classification of Diseases, there is still an ongoing debate over its conceptualization and assessment. Several necessary steps have been recommended, including exploring the structure and the relationships of the GD symptoms, whilst considering how gaming may satisfy/meet the gamers’ needs. To address this aim, the responses of a large sample of active/dedicated adult gamers (N = 3895; M_age = 26.17; SD_age = 6.48; 82.5% men; gaming hours per week M = 26.06) were analyzed using a network analysis in the present study. GD symptoms were assessed with AICA-S and needs satisfaction, both outside and inside the game world, with the Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs and Player Experience of Needs Satisfaction, respectively. The GD network was revealed to be composed of Time-Related, Cognitive-Emotional (with Craving and Tolerance most central), and Behavioral-Consequential (with Continuation Despite Consequences most central) symptom clusters. Escapism was shown to be the bridge between real-life needs, in-game needs, and GD symptoms. The results highlight the necessity to reconsider the structure of GD symptoms and their differential roles. Diagnostic, assessment, and treatment implications are illustrated.