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Updated: Jul 12, 2025
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Online Gamers
Published on: November 9, 2019
Validation of the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) and its association with functional impairment in
Daniel Tornaim Spritzer1, Wagner de Lara Machado2, Marina Balem Yates2
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Objective:
Despite growing recognition of gaming disorder as a mental disorder, there is still debate about how best to screen for it. This is especially relevant in countries where prevalence studies that could support evidence-based policymaking have not yet been conducted. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) and to explore its association with functional impairment.
Methods:
An online convenience sample of 805 Brazilian adults who reported playing games completed the adapted version of the IGDT-10 and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), as well as the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and a socio-demographic questionnaire.
Results:
The Brazilian Portuguese version of the IGDT-10 demonstrated a unidimensional structure in both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses with satisfactory internal consistency and adequate temporal stability. Participants who scored five or more on the IGDT-10 presented higher levels of functional impairment compared to those who scored positive for four symptoms or fewer. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant with a moderate effect size. Network analysis showed a direct connection between IGDT-10 scores and functional impairment and identified "negative consequences" as the most relevant item connecting these variables.
Conclusion:
The IGDT-10 is a brief, easy-to-understand, valid, and reliable instrument, proving to be a suitable candidate for screening gaming disorder in future epidemiological studies.
