Binge gaming: a notable gaming pattern beyond total gaming time

Previous papers have reported the positive correlations between gaming time and internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, qualitative patterns of gaming, such as binge gaming (BG, playing more than 5 h consecutively) which is easier to measure and may better reflect core behavioral addictive processes, has been underexplored. To examine whether BG frequency serve as a more distinct and clinically relevant indicator of IGD among Chinese senior high school students, independent of total gaming duration. A total of 2,689 participants (mean age = 16.10 ± 0.95 years; 52.88% male) completed an anonymous web-based survey. Partial correlation, hierarchical regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to verify BG was a more effective and better indicator of IGD compared to weekly gaming time (WGT). Over half of the sample (58.83%) reported engaging in BG at least once, with 17.77% engaging in BG more than weekly. BG frequency was significantly associated with higher nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) scores (partial correlation = 0.306, p < .001), even after adjusting for WGT. Hierarchical regression showed that BG (β = 0.33) was a better indicator of IGD than WGT (β = 0.20) when both were included. ANCOVA confirmed a dose-response relationship: higher BG frequency was associated with increasingly severe IGD symptoms (explaining 10.1% variance after adjusting for WGT, p < .001). BG frequency is a robust and stronger indicator of IGD, independent of total gaming duration. These findings highlight the important role of BG episodes in IGD and provide a new perspective in refining strategies to reduce IGD.