Comparison of the Video Game Functional Assessment-Revised (VGFA-R) and Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20)

Initially labeled as internet addiction in the mid-1990s (e.g., Griffiths, 1996; Young, 1996), researchers have since focused on how specific online activities result in negative consequences for those who overuse and have problems with online applications such as online gambling and online sex (Griffiths, 2000; Potenza, 2017). More recently, this has been applied to online problematic video game play, often used synonymously with terms such as online video game addiction, online gaming addiction, and Internet gaming disorder (IGD). With the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), IGD was identified by the APA as warranting further study. The current proposed diagnostic criterion in the DSM-5 requires the presence of five of nine symptoms over a 12-month period. These include: (a) preoccupation or obsession with Internet games, (b) withdrawal symptoms when not playing Internet games, (c) an increasing need over time to spend more and more time playing video games, (d) failed attempts to stop or curb Internet gaming, (e) loss of interest in other activities such as hobbies, (f) continued overuse of Internet games even with knowledge of the impact of overuse on their life, (g) lying about extent of Internet game usage, (h) uses Internet games to relieve anxiety or guilt, and (i) has lost or put at risk an opportunity or relationship because of Internet games (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). However, it is unclear if the disorder represents addiction to the internet or if IGD evaluates specific behaviors occurring within the context of the video gaming (Starcevic and Billieux, 2017; Young and Brand, 2017).