Unraveling the dynamics among Internet gaming disorder, depression and emotion dysregulation in Chinese adolescents:...

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) jeopardizes adolescents' physical and psychological health and often co-occurs with depression and emotion dysregulation. The current understanding of the symptom-level associations among IGD, depression, and emotion dysregulation remains limited. This study explored the unique longitudinal relationships among the symptoms of IGD, depression, and emotion dysregulation in adolescents. In total, 466 boys and 420 girls completed the IGD, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression, and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation scales at three time points (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3), with each wave spaced six months apart. Their ages ranged from 9 to 13 years, with a mean age of 10.17 years (SD = 0.73). A cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) was used for the data analysis. CLPN analysis indicated that "psychosocial problems", "depressed affect", and "somatic and retarded activity" were the most impactful symptoms from T1 to T2. From T2 to T3, "depressed affect", "lack of emotional clarity", and "psychosocial problems" were the most impactful symptoms. Additionally, "depressed affect" was the most important bridging symptom in the network. Notably, reciprocal relationships were observed among several factors: between "somatic and retarded activity" and "uncontrollability", between "limited access to emotion regulation strategies" and "uncontrollability", and between "somatic and retarded activity" and "difficulties engaging in goal-directed". This pattern points to a potential self-reinforcing cycle. This study identified the specific bidirectional predictive relationships among IGD, depression, and emotion dysregulation at the symptom level in adolescents. Additionally, it pinpointed central and bridging symptoms as targets for preventing co-occurring issues. The results underscore the imperative to design targeted strategies that bolster adolescents' psychological health.