Pathologic use of video games and gotivation. Can the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) predict depression and trait anxiety?

Videogaming is an increasingly prevalent activity among adolescents worldwide. The present study aimed at adapting the Gaming Motivation Scale (GAMS) to the Italian context, assessing its psychometric properties and verifying its sensitivity to predict depression and anxiety levels. From a sample of 1899 participants, a group of 388 adolescents who participated in the survey was divided into two subgroups of Heavy (HG, N = 188) and Light Gamers (LG, N = 200). A sub-sample of N = 172 adolescents also filled-in CESD and STAI to assess, respectively, depression and trait anxiety. Internal consistency and factorial structure of the Italian version of GAMS (GAMS-it) have been evaluated. Moreover, a latent regression structural equation model by predicting the CES-D and STAI scores with the GAMS-it factors has been carried out. GAMS-it has adequate validity and reliability levels, showing a very similar factorial structure to the original version. Therefore, this scale can be used to evaluate gaming motivation, which is useful for gaming motivation screening. Finally, it has been found that lower gaming motivation can be related to high level of depression and anxiety. The present findings provide a coherent picture, supporting the reliability and validity of the GAMS-it, that appears potentially useful in predicting anxiety and depression levels in a population of adolescent

Adattamento italiano della Assessment of Internet and Computer game Addiction scale (AICAs-Ita)

Il videogaming è un'attività sempre più diffusa tra adolescenti e adulti di tutto il mondo. Il presente studio ha l’obiettivo di adattare e valutare le proprietà psicometriche della versione italiana della Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction scale (AICAs-Ita), una scala sviluppata e validata recentemente in Germania. Sono stati condotti tre distinti studi: il primo per confermare la struttura fattoriale della scala, il secondo per valutare la validità di costrutto, e il terzo per valutare se i punteggi dell’AICAs-Ita possano predire i livelli di depressione e ansia dei videogiocatori. A tal fine sono stati coinvolti tre diversi campioni di adolescenti italiani (di età compresa tra 14 e 19 anni) cui è stato chiesto di compilare l’AICAsIta, oltre alle scale GAMS e BIS-11 per lo studio 2, e CESD e STAI per lo studio 3. I risultati hanno sottolineato la qualità psicometrica dell'AICAs-Ita in termini di affidabilità e validità. La versione italiana della scala appare quindi essere uno strumento utile per valutare la dipendenza da videogiochi che potrà fruttuosamente essere utilizzato in questo crescente ambito di ricerca, per definire popolazioni di individui a potenziale rischio di dipendenza da nuove tecnologieVideogaming is an increasingly popular activity among teenagers and adults around the world. The present study aims to adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Assessment of Internet and Computer Game Addiction Scale (AICAs-Ita), a scale recently developed and validated in Germany. Three separate studies were conducted: the first to confirm the factorial structure of the scale, the second to evaluate the validity of the construct, and the third to assess whether AICAs-Ita scores can predict levels of depression and anxiety among gamers. To this end, three different samples of Italian adolescents were involved (aged between 14 and 19) who were asked to complete the AICAs-Ita, in addition to the GAMS and BIS-11 scales for study 2, and CESD and STAY for study 3. The results underlined the psychometric quality of AICAs-Ita in terms of reliability and validity. The Italian version of the scale therefore appears to be a useful tool for assessing video game addiction that can be fruitfully used in this growing field of research, to define populations of individuals at potential risk of dependence on new technologies