Determining the prevalence of internet gaming disorder among university students: An assessment during the epidemic

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is considered “the disorder that requires to be researched the most” by the American Psychiatric Association. Furthermore, it was emphasized that it is of great importance in terms of public health. The 9-question Internet Gaming Disorder Short Form-9 (IGDSF-9) gives information about one’s IGD in the last year. The world has been struggling with the SARS CoV-2 epidemic for more than a year. The scale measurement range and the duration of the epidemic overlap. This study aimed to evaluate IGD among university students during the SARS-CoV-2 period. Students receiving education at Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University were included in the study. Data were collected between March and May 2021. The sociodemographic data section was created by the author through reviewing the current literature. Information regarding IGD was gathered using IGDSF-9. 718 university students participated in the study and 388 (54%) of them were female. The mean age was 21.3±1.39 years. The mean IGDSF-9 score was 14.91±6.45 points. The mean IGDSF-9 of male students (17.23±7.31) was higher than that of female students (12.93±4.81) and the difference between them was statistically significant (p<0.001). The mean number of games downloaded on the devices of the participants was 1.8±1.96 (max=7). It was determined that 244 (34%) participants’ interests in games during the epidemic increased, that the number of games downloaded by 173 (24.1%) participants increased and that the time spent by 508 (70.8%) participants on computers, tablets, or smartphones increased. It was found that the participants’ interest in games increased during the epidemic, that the number of games downloaded on their devices increased, and that the time spent on computers, tablets, or smartphones increased. Although the interest in games and the number of games increased, we think that this is not reflected in the prevalence and mean of IGD. Moreover, we suggest that it would be useful to co-examine the measurement values and clinical findings.

Keywords: Epidemic, disorder, internet, gaming, university students