SCOPING REVIEW OF INTERNET GAME ADDICTION WITH A FOCUS ON THE RISK, PROTECTION, IMPACT FACTORS, AND INTERVENTION PROTOCOLS

Abstract

Background: Internet game among adolescents seems problematic and has been associated with various psychosocial problems such as aggressive behavior, insomnia, and self centeredness, as well as being easily petulant, hot tempered, disobedient to parents and violent. Additionally, these adolescents are more likely to steal their parents’ money, develop poor money management skills, and display other negative forms of behavior associated with an imitation of violent game behavior and engaging in aggressive speech.

Aims: This study aimed to conduct a scoping review of articles published on internet game addiction to understand what evidence exists of the protective, risk and impact factors of game addiction following the intervention protocols related to the specified topic.

Methods: The standard method of scoping review was applied. Inclusion criteria were Thai and English articles that had been published online during 2012 2017. The participants were adolescents aged 13 18 years old. Notably, non empirical studies, theses, book reviews, and commentaries were excluded from this scoping study. The databases CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Thai journal online were employed to search for the articles using the key phrase “internet game addiction” at the initial step. Six hundred and sixty titles were retrieved from the database. Three authors read the titles and abstracts and then selected the relevant articles related to the topic. Ultimately, eighty four articles were included. In the second step, the inclusion criterion was applied, and non relevant studies were excluded. For the third step, the selected references were then listed, and the full text articles were obtained.

Results: The authors included 18 studies for review that consisted of mixed method, descriptive cross sectional and experimental studies. Primarily, papers published in Thailand were selected (7 articles), followed by those published in China, Turkey, Norway, Germany, Greek, Hong Kong and South Korea. A common theme across the description of the risk factors of Internet game addiction of adolescents was related to the functionality of the adolescents’ families, as well as their self efficacy, and attitudes toward computer game playing and gambling. The protective factors included education attention switching activities. The impacts of internet game addiction were associated with depression, psychological trauma, decreased academic achievement, misuse of time and money, and social problems related to the act of gambling. The cognitive behavioral assessment was promoted for the treatment.

Conclusion: Internet game playing can partially mediate the effects associated with the risks and protective factors of internet game addiction. The relevant implications for research and practice will be discussed.