Inconsistent Bodily Feedback? Interoceptive Sensibility Affects Internet Gaming Disorder in Emerging Adults

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Health Science

Background:

• Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is a global concern with significant health implications.
• Interoceptive sensibility, the perception of internal bodily states, is hypothesized to influence IGD.
• The precise relationship between interoceptive sensibility and IGD, including mediating and moderating factors, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the direct and indirect pathways linking interoceptive sensibility to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD).
• To examine the mediating roles of positive outcome expectancy and flow experience in the relationship between interoceptive sensibility and IGD.
• To explore the moderating effect of refusal self-efficacy on the association between psychological factors and IGD.

Main Methods:

• Serial mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted on data from 1733 students.
• Participants completed measures assessing interoceptive sensibility, positive outcome expectancy, flow experience, refusal self-efficacy, and IGD.
• Statistical models were employed to test the proposed serial mediation and moderated mediation hypotheses.

Main Results:

• Interoceptive sensibility was positively associated with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD).
• This association was serially mediated by positive outcome expectancy and flow experience.
• Refusal self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationships between positive outcome expectancy and IGD, and between flow experience and IGD.

Conclusions:

• Interoceptive sensibility is a significant factor contributing to the development of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD).
• Positive outcome expectancy and flow experience act as key mediators in this relationship.
• Enhancing refusal self-efficacy can mitigate the risk of IGD by buffering the impact of positive outcome expectancy and flow experience.