Relationships of internet gaming reasons to biological indicators and risk of internet gaming addiction in Korean adolescent male game users

Background There are no standard diagnostic criteria or interventions for internet gaming addiction (IGA) even though IGA is one of the most pervasive public health issues among youth worldwide. Internet gaming reasons or motivations have been studied as a potential predictor of IGA, but the results have been inconsistent and biological indicators of gaming reasons have rarely been studied. We sought to (1) identify categories of internet gaming reasons, (2) examine the relationship of gaming reasons to risk of IGA, and (3) describe biological indicators associated with reasons for gaming. Methods We used a multi-phase cross-sectional design including individual interviews; focus group discussion; and descriptive, comparative analysis. Fifteen Korean adolescent male internet gamers participated in individual interviews and eight participated in a focus group aimed at identifying reasons for internet gaming. Using the identified gaming reasons from these sources we surveyed 225 adolescent game users using a self-report questionnaire. Participants provided blood samples for assessment of norepinephrine (NE) and serum cortisol. Results We identified four major categories of internet gaming reasons: entertainment, getting along with friends, stress relief, and habitual gaming. The habitual group showed significantly greater risk of IGA than the other groups (p < .001) and the lowest plasma NE levels (p = .035), possibly indicating an alteration in autonomic function. Conclusion Health care providers are encouraged to screen adolescents for excessive internet gaming and to intervene with those who report habitual gaming behaviors. When feasible, assessment of biological indicators, such as plasma NE, may help to identify youth at greatest risk of IGA

Altered Heart Rate Variability During Gameplay in Internet Gaming Disorder: The Impact of Situations During the Game

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is characterized by a loss of control over gaming and a decline in psychosocial functioning derived from excessive gameplay. We hypothesized that individuals with IGD would show different autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses to the games than those without IGD. In this study, heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed in 21 young males with IGD and 27 healthy controls while playing their favorite Internet game. The subjects could examine the game logs to identify the most and least concentrated periods of the game. The changes in HRV during specific 5-min periods of the game (first, last, and high- and low-attention) were compared between groups via a repeated measures analysis of variance. Significant predictors of HRV patterns during gameplay were determined from stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. Subjects with IGD showed a significant difference from controls in the patterns of vagally mediated HRV, such that they showed significant reductions in high-frequency HRV, particularly during the periods of high attention and the last 5 min, compared with baseline values. A regression analysis showed that the IGD symptom scale score was a significant predictor of this reduction. These results suggest that an altered HRV response to specific gaming situations is related to addictive patterns of gaming and may reflect the diminished executive control of individuals with IGD while playing Internet games

Internet Gaming Disorder and its associated personality traits: a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines

For most individuals, videogame playing is a fun and enjoyable activity that brings many benefits. However, for a small minority, the activity can be problematic and has led to much research into “gaming disorder.” In explanations concerning the contributory factors to gaming disorder, personality traits have been increasingly studied. The present paper carried out a systematic review of available literature using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The inclusion criteria were (i) publication date between 2000 and 2018, (ii) being an empirical study, (iii) written in English and Turkish languages (the two languages spoken by the authors), (iv) published in a scholarly peer-reviewed journal, and (v) conducted an assessment of IGD and personality traits objectively. Studies were excluded from the review if they were (i) single-case studies, (ii) unpublished thesis and dissertation studies, and (iii) not published in a peer-reviewed journal. Following these procedures, 21 eligible empirical studies were included. Results demonstrated that 24 distinct personality traits had been examined in relation to IGD and that some of these traits were demonstrated as risk factors for gaming addiction (although not always in the same direction)

Alexithymic traits, mental and physical health, and early-life adversity – FinnBrain birth cohort study

Alexithymia is a personality construct first identified in hospitalized psychosomatic patients. It is characterized by difficulties in identifying (DIF) and describing (DDF) feelings, an externally oriented, or concrete and pragmatic thinking style (EOT), as well as a scarcity of fantasy and imagination. Alexithymia has been associated with increased psychiatric and somatic morbidity across diagnostic categories, as well as increased markers of physiological stress. The etiology of alexithymia is unclear although childhood environmental influences are likely to play a role in it. Several studies imply that alexithymia is a heterogeneous phenomenon with possible subtypes that have differential associations with mental health and emotion regulation. This dissertation is part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, in which we analyzed a large sample of fathers and mothers and compared their alexithymic traits with mental and physical health outcomes, as well as self-reported early-life adversities in childhood. Our results support the hypotheses of the existence of two alexithymia subtypes: One characterized by high levels of DIF, as well as increased depressive and anxiety symptoms; and another characterized by high levels of EOT, exhibiting lower psychiatric symptomatology. However, EOT, even while not increasing the risk for mood or anxiety symptoms, was associated with increased substance use in men, and a higher BMI and higher prevalence of gestational diabetes in women. In pregnant women, alexithymic traits, and especially the dimension of DIF, was additionally associated with higher hair cortisol concentrations during late pregnancy, indicating heightened levels of chronic stress. Regarding early-life adversity, we showed that alexithymia was specifically related to childhood experiences of emotional neglect and was associated with adult attachment insecurity. These findings show that alexithymic traits have differential associations with psychiatric symptomatology, substance use and metabolic health. Importantly, they show that many of these associations are independent of mood and anxiety. Findings on early-life adversity in alexithymia imply that depression with concurrent alexithymia may represent a specific subtype of depression, treatment of which may benefit from a focus on childhood emotional neglect and attachment insecurity.Aleksitymia kuvaa moniulotteista persoonallisuuden piirteistöä, jonka tunnusmerkkejä ovat vaikeudet tunteiden tunnistamisessa ja ilmaisussa, mielikuvituksen köyhyys sekä ulkokohtainen ajattelutyyli, jossa kiinnostus sisäiseen maailmaan ja tunteisiin on vähäistä. Aleksitymia on liitetty moniin somaattisiin ja psyykkisiin terveysongelmiin, sekä fysiologiseen stressiin. Useat tutkimukset viittaavat siihen, että aleksitymiaa ei voida pitää yksiulotteisena ilmiönä, vaan sillä on useita alatyyppejä, joilla saattaa olla erilaisia vaikutuksia terveyteen ja tunnesäätelyyn. Aleksitymian syntymekanismit ovat edelleen epäselviä, mutta lapsuuden ympäristöllä ja vastoinkäymisillä ajatellaan olevan merkittävä rooli sen kehittymisessä. Tämä tutkimus on osa FinnBrain syntymäkohorttitutkimusta. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu suuresta otoksesta isiä ja äitejä. Tutkimme tässä populaatiossa aleksityymisten piirteiden yhteyttä fyysiseen terveyteen, mielenterveyteen sekä lapsuuden vastoinkäymisiin. Löydöksemme tukevat hypoteeseja aleksitymian kahdesta alatyypistä: Ensimmäistä alatyyppiä luonnehtivat subjektiivinen vaikeus tunnistaa ja ilmaista tunteita, sekä lisääntynyt masennus- ja ahdistuneisuusoireisto. Toisessa alatyypissä korostuneempana on ulkokohtainen ajattelutyyli, eikä siihen liity lisääntynyttä psykiatrista oireilua. Ulkokohtainen ajattelutyyli kuitenkin lisäsi alkoholin ja tupakan kulutusta miehillä, sekä oli yhteydessä ylipainoon ja raskausdiabetekseen naisilla, riippumatta samanaikaisista masennus- ja ahdistusoireista. Raskaana olevilla naisilla aleksitymia oli lisäksi yhteydessä korkeampiin hiusten kortisolitasoihin, mikä viittaa krooniseen stressiin. Lapsuuden vastoinkäymisten osalta löydöksemme viittaavat siihen, että aleksitymia on yhteydessä lapsuuden emotionaaliseen vaille jäämiseen sekä kiintymyssuhdeongelmiin. Löydökset korostavat aleksitymian monimuotoisuutta, ja osoittavat, että aleksitymian eri ulottuvuudet ovat yhteydessä erilaisiin terveysongelmiin sekä päihteidenkäyttöön. Nämä yhteydet ovat lisäksi riippumattomia samanaikaisista masennus- ja ahdistuneisuusoireista. Löydökset liittyen lapsuuden vastoinkäymisiin aleksitymian taustalla korostavat emotionaalisen vaille jäämisen ja kiintymyssuhdeongelmien tärkeyttä, ja voivat auttaa uusien hoitomuotojen kehittämisessä psykiatrisille potilaille, joilla on aleksityymisiä piirteit

Internet and Smartphone Use-Related Addiction Health Problems: Treatment, Education and Research

This Special Issue presents some of the main emerging research on technological topics of health and education approaches to Internet use-related problems, before and during the beginning of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective is to provide an overview to facilitate a comprehensive and practical approach to these new trends to promote research, interventions, education, and prevention. It contains 40 papers, four reviews and thirty-five empirical papers and an editorial introducing everything in a rapid review format. Overall, the empirical ones are of a relational type, associating specific behavioral addictive problems with individual factors, and a few with contextual factors, generally in adult populations. Many have adapted scales to measure these problems, and a few cover experiments and mixed methods studies. The reviews tend to be about the concepts and measures of these problems, intervention options, and prevention. In summary, it seems that these are a global culture trend impacting health and educational domains. Internet use-related addiction problems have emerged in almost all societies, and strategies to cope with them are under development to offer solutions to these contemporary challenges, especially during the pandemic situation that has highlighted the global health problems that we have, and how to holistically tackle them

An Examination of the Role of Interpersonal Stressors and Attachment Style in Dissociative Experiences

Dissociation is an involuntary stress response that has been linked to negative cognitive, emotional, and physical symptoms. Interpersonal stressors are associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes above and beyond stressors that are not interpersonal in nature, and therefore may be relevant to dissociation. Additionally, attachment anxiety or avoidance (i.e., insecure attachment) may put individuals at risk for dissociation in response to social stressors and might moderate their responses. However, extant studies have yet to investigate the relationship between daily interpersonal stressors and dissociation in the context of attachment anxiety and avoidance longitudinally, despite evidence that dissociation and attachment anxiety and avoidance can fluctuate across time and contexts. The current study assessed whether the relationship between interpersonal stressors and dissociation varies as a function of both trait attachment and attachment states within a given social interaction. Participants (N = 128) completed surveys online, including a one-time baseline measure assessing trait-like attachment dimensions and daily diary responses over seven days (M = 11; n = 2137) examining perceived interpersonal stressors, state attachment measures, and daily dissociation. As hypothesized, in multi-level modeling (MLM) analyses, interpersonal stressors positively predicted dissociative experiences in daily life, as did baseline trait attachment avoidance and state attachment anxiety. However, state attachment avoidance effects and two- and three-way interactions between attachment dimensions and interpersonal stressors occurred but not in the expected direction, suggesting a complex picture. These findings provide support for individual fluctuations in dissociative experiences in response to daily stressors and indicate attachment anxiety and avoidance as important factors in this relationship

An Online Investigation Into Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), Comorbidity, and Psychosocial Issues: a Comparison of American and Chinese Gamers—and Predictors of Meeting Criteria for a Formal Diagnosis of IGD

The problem that this study addressed is the rise of internet gaming disorder (IGD) globally, including within the United States and countries such as China—and, the resultant need for more data on the prevalence of adult men and women meeting criteria for a diagnosis of IGD, as well as data on related comorbidities and psychosocial issues. A global sample (N=231) met the study inclusion criteria (i.e., play video games at least once a week at a minimum, consider themselves involved in Internet gaming, and have been gaming for the past six months—while of interest were findings with an English Speaking (ES) sample, and a Chinese Mandarin Speaking (CMS) sample. The study sample of convenience recruited via a social media campaign was 62.4% (n=63) male in the ES sample, and 55.4% (n=72) male in the CMS sample. The ES sample had a mean age of 29.34 (SD=8.396, Min=18, Max=52), and the CMS sample had mean age of 25.65 (SD=7.514, Min=18, Max=57). While the CMS sample indicated they were Asian (99.2%, n=129), the ES sample was diverse: 58% White (n=59), 17.8% (n=59) Asian, and 11.9% (n=12) Black. The main study findings reveal a prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD of 0% (n=101) for the ES sample, and .8% (n=1) for the CMS sample. As another main study finding, for the CMS sample, participants met more DSM-5 criteria for IGD (out of the 9 total criteria), when they were male, experienced anxiety in the past year, and were engaged in more violence due to gaming. For the ES sample, study participants met more DSM-5 criteria for IGD (out of the 9 total criteria), when they did not have a partner, had a higher income, were engaged in more violence due to gaming, engaged in a higher level of help seeking for personal/emotional support, and had a lower level of perceived social support. In essence, this constitutes the provision of risk profiles and descriptions of those most vulnerable to IGD. This study contributes to those efforts to conduct research on the DSM-5 criteria for IGD (APA, 2013)

燒炭自殺在東亞國家的流行散佈: 趨勢分析

The Abstract Book can be viewed at: http://www.sop.org.tw/book/download/Summary2013.pdfConference Theme: Focusing on Mental Health, Life Care and Social Network in the ElderlyObjective: Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from burning barbecue charcoal reached epidemic levels in Hong Kong and Taiwan within 5 years in the early 2000s. Methods: We used data for suicides by gases other than domestic gas in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea (1995-2010), Taiwan (1995-2011), and Singapore (1996-2011) to systematically investigate the spread of this method in East Asia. Graphical and joinpoint regression analyses were used to examine suicide trends and Poisson regression analysis to study sex- and age-specific patterns. Results: In 1995/1996, charcoal-burning suicides accounted for < 1% of all suicides in all study countries, except around 5% in Japan, but they increased to account for 14%, 28%, 13%, 4.3%, and 3.4% of all suicides in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore respectively in 2010. Rises were first seen in Hong Kong in 1999, followed by Singapore in 2000, Taiwan in 2001, Japan in 2003, and South Korea in 2008. There was some evidence for an impact on overall suicide trends in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan (females), but not in Japan (males), South Korea, and Singapore. Rates of change did not differ by sex/age group in Taiwan and Hong Kong but were greatest in young people in Japan and middleaged men and young women in South Korea. Conclusion: Variations in the timing, scale and sex/age pattern of the epidemic appear to be influenced by the media reporting of charcoal-burning suicide, whilst other factors such as the characteristics of the first or first few cases, language and ulture, familiarity and accessibility with the method, and socio-economic conditions may also play a role. Strategies to limit the epidemic spread of new suicide methods include surveillance to enable the early identification of the emergence of such methods, responsible media reporting and restrictions on Internet sites giving technical information about the method