The Conceptualisation and Measurement of DSM-5 Internet Gaming Disorder: The Development of the IGD-20 Test

TLDR

Growing concern about gaming addiction and its detrimental impacts has led the DSM‑5 to include nine criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder, underscoring the need for empirical study. The study aimed to develop a valid, reliable, psychometrically robust IGD‑20 test and establish empirically supported cut‑off points. The IGD‑20 test was validated using confirmatory factor analysis, criterion‑related and concurrent validity tests, latent profile analysis to distinguish disordered from non‑disordered gamers, and sensitivity‑specificity analyses to determine an empirical cut‑off. The IGD‑20 test proved valid and reliable, identified 5.3 % of participants as disordered gamers, and an optimal cut‑off of 71 points was determined, supporting its viability as a standardized tool for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder.

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been growing concern about 'gaming addiction' and its widely documented detrimental impacts on a minority of individuals that play excessively. The latest (fifth) edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included nine criteria for the potential diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and noted that it was a condition that warranted further empirical study.The main aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable standardised psychometrically robust tool in addition to providing empirically supported cut-off points.A sample of 1003 gamers (85.2% males; mean age 26 years) from 57 different countries were recruited via online gaming forums. Validity was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), criterion-related validity, and concurrent validity. Latent profile analysis was also carried to distinguish disordered gamers from non-disordered gamers. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to determine an empirical cut-off for the test.The CFA confirmed the viability of IGD-20 Test with a six-factor structure (salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse) for the assessment of IGD according to the nine criteria from DSM-5. The IGD-20 Test proved to be valid and reliable. According to the latent profile analysis, 5.3% of the total participants were classed as disordered gamers. Additionally, an optimal empirical cut-off of 71 points (out of 100) seemed to be adequate according to the sensitivity and specificity analyses carried.The present findings support the viability of the IGD-20 Test as an adequate standardised psychometrically robust tool for assessing internet gaming disorder. Consequently, the new instrument represents the first step towards unification and consensus in the field of gaming studies.