Gaming, religiosity and mental health among Georgian students

The dramatic rise in high-speed internet access and smartphone usage has made multiplayer online gaming increasingly prevalent among young adults. While moderate gaming can confer cognitive benefits, excessive gaming is linked to sleep disruption, addiction, and a spectrum of adverse mental health outcomes-including depression, anxiety, stress, and impaired academic performance. In 2018, the World Health Organization formally recognized Gaming Disorder (GD) as an addictive mental health condition, before that Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) had been added to DSM-5 in 2013. Despite growing concern, data remain scarce on IGD's prevalence and psychological correlates in Georgian university students. This study therefore assessed the relationship between IGD, gaming duration, and key psychosocial variables (burnout, loneliness, life satisfaction, religiosity, and substance use) in a representative Georgian student sample.

From November 2024-January 2025, an anonymous online survey was administered to students at four major Georgian universities, yielding 506 responses (157 complete). Participants reported weekly gaming hours and completed validated scales: Internet Gaming Disorder Scale, Burnout Scale, Loneliness Scale (emotional/social), Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Financial Wellbeing Scale. Self-reported religiosity, substance use patterns, and demographic data were collected. Statistical analyses (SPSS v26) included Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA, chi-square tests, and eta coefficients; significance was set at p < 0.05.

Among 506 respondents (mean age 22.1; 33.4% male), mean weekly gaming duration was 8.26 h and mean IGD score was 15.04. Males reported significantly longer gaming duration and higher IGD scores than females (p < 0.001). Weekly gaming duration showed a weak positive correlation with IGD scores (r = 0.31, p < 0.001), explaining ~ 10% of variance. MANOVA indicated that gaming duration retained its statistical significance inside the model (P < 0.001). ANCOVA indicated religiosity (p = 0.016, partial η² = 0.05) and gender (p = 0.040, partial η² = 0.03) remained significant predictors of IGD after adjusting for continuous covariates.

Excessive gaming among Georgian university students is associated with higher IGD severity, greater burnout, and reduced life satisfaction, with religiosity serving as a potential protective factor. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions-such as psychoeducation and time management strategies-to promote balanced gaming habits. The high attrition rate is the primary limiting factor to generilizing the findings of the study.