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Published on: November 9, 2019
Emotion dysregulation and Internet gaming disorder in young people: Mediating effects of negative affect and
Shuhong Lin1, Linxiang Tan2, Xinxin Chen1
1Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan, China; Institute of Mental Health of Central South University, Chinese National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hunan Medical Center for Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Background:
Recent studies have found that emotion dysregulation, negative affect, and metacognitions about online gaming are risk factors for Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, few studies investigated the mechanisms underlying these interactions. The present study aimed to explore the relationships between emotion dysregulation and IGD, and the mediating effects of negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming.
Methods:
An online survey was conducted with young people (aged 10-24 years) who played video games. 1768 participants were included in this study. Observed variables, including emotion dysregulation, IGD, depression, anxiety, and metacognitions, were measured with self-report scales. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among the variables.
Results:
The results showed that emotion dysregulation positively predicted IGD through a fully mediated model which included the independent mediating effects of negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming and their sequential mediating effect. The model explained 76.1 % of the variance in IGD.
Limitations:
This was a cross-sectional study which could not infer causality.
Conclusions:
This study emphasizes that negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming mediate the effect of emotion dysregulation on IGD; moreover, metacognition may be a proximal factor of IGD. Thus, improving emotional regulation and modifying maladaptive metacognitions in young people may improve the prevention and treatment of IGD.
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