Toward a consensus definition of pathological video-gaming: A systematic review of psychometric assessment tools

Pathological video-gaming, or its proposed DSM-V classification of “Internet Use Disorder”, is of increasing interest to scholars and practitioners in allied health disciplines. This systematic review was designed to evaluate the standards in pathological video-gaming instrumentation, according to C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical psychology review 2013-04, Vol.33 (3), p.331-342
Main Authors: King, Daniel L., Haagsma, Maria C., Delfabbro, Paul H., Gradisar, Michael, Griffiths, Mark D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Assessment
Behavior, Addictive - diagnosis
DSM-V
Humans
Internet
Internet use disorder
Pathological video-gaming
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Systematic review
Video Games - psychology
Video-gaming addiction
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Summary:Pathological video-gaming, or its proposed DSM-V classification of “Internet Use Disorder”, is of increasing interest to scholars and practitioners in allied health disciplines. This systematic review was designed to evaluate the standards in pathological video-gaming instrumentation, according to Cicchetti (1994) and Groth-Marnat's (2009) criteria and guidelines for sound psychometric assessment. A total of 63 quantitative studies, including eighteen instruments and representing 58,415 participants, were evaluated. Results indicated that reviewed instrumentation may be broadly characterized as inconsistent. Strengths of available measures include: (i) short length and ease of scoring, (ii) excellent internal consistency and convergent validity, and (iii) potentially adequate data for development of standardized norms for adolescent populations. However, key limitations included: (a) inconsistent coverage of core addiction indicators, (b) varying cut-off scores to indicate clinical status, (c) a lack of a temporal dimension, (d) untested or inconsistent dimensionality, and (e) inadequate data on predictive validity and inter-rater reliability. An emerging consensus suggests that pathological video-gaming is commonly defined by (1) withdrawal, (2) loss of control, and (3) conflict. It is concluded that a unified approach to assessment of pathological video-gaming is needed. A synthesis of extant research efforts by meta-analysis may be difficult in the context of several divergent approaches to assessment. ► We review the psychometric properties of eighteen instruments for pathological video-gaming. ► Available measures may be broadly characterized as inconsistent. ► Research consensus suggests three key symptoms of pathological video-gaming. ► Instruments are limited by differing theoretical orientations, and some psychometric inadequacies. ► Areas of improvement for future research on the proposed DSM-V disorder are outlined.
ISSN:0272-7358
1873-7811
DOI:10.1016/j.cpr.2013.01.002