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Validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Symptoms Checklist Based on the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in Chinese Adolescents

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Abstract

This study aims to develop and validate a checklist for IGD symptoms of Chinese adolescents based on the fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DISCA). We recruited 2144 secondary school students who reported that they had played Internet games in the past 12 months in two large cities of China. The 9 item of DISCA were all significantly and positively correlated and the scale reliability was satisfactory. The unidimensional structure of the scale was confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), χ2/df = 246.18/27, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .06. Measurement invariance across gender and city groups was confirmed by Multiple-group CFA. Criterion validity was demonstrated by the significant positive associations between DISCA score and self-identified IGD, loss of control regarding time spent on Internet gaming, time spent on playing Internet games, depression, and suicidal ideation. DISCA is a brief, reliable, and validated assessment to measure adolescent IGD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Behaviours Research, Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Xue Yang, Kei Man Wong & Joseph T. F. Lau

  2. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China

    Xue Yang

  3. School of Public Health, Peking University, Bei**g, China

    Xuewen Jiang

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macau, China

    Anise M. S. Wu

  5. School of Public Health, **’an Jiao Tong University Health Science Center, **’an, China

    Le Ma

  6. School of Public HealthFaculty of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Yong Cai

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  1. Xue Yang
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  7. Joseph T. F. Lau
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Correspondence to Joseph T. F. Lau.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical Approval

Ethics approval was obtained from the Survey and Behavioral Ethics Committee, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent was provided by the school principals before the survey. Students were assured that the return of the completed questionnaire implied informed consent, and participation was voluntary and refusal or quitting the survey had no negative consequences. No incentive was provided to the participants.

Research Involving Human Participants

This research involved human participants. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Yang, X., Jiang, X., Wu, A.M.S. et al. Validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder Symptoms Checklist Based on the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in Chinese Adolescents. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 54, 26–33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01213-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01213-7

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