Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and associated risk factors in a sample of secondary and postsecondary students from a public federal institution of higher education (Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia) in Southern Brazil. Methods: The study included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-BR), the Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN), and the Game Addiction Scale (GAS). Finally, IGD was measured with the Brazilian version of the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), which has been psychometrically validated in this population. Results: Overall, 38.2% (n=212) of the sample exhibited IGD symptoms, with 18.2% (n=101) being classed as at-risk gamers. Regression analysis found IGD to be associated with male gender, severe depressive symptoms, poor sleep quality, increased time spent gaming, and total free time spent gaming (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of IGD in this sample was relatively high, and associated risk factors found were similar to those previously reported in the literature. Further studies investigating the epidemiology of IGD in Brazilian samples are warranted to better understand treatment needs and inform preventive measures in this population.

Abstract Introduction The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form (IGDS9-SF) assesses the severity, harmful effects and/or consequences of excessive online and offline gaming. Its conciseness and theoretical foundations on current diagnostic criteria of gaming disorders make it a useful resource for clinical and screening settings. Objective To describe the process of cross-cultural adaptation of the IGDS9-SF to the Brazilian context. Methods The cross-cultural adaptation involved the steps of independent translation of the instrument, synthesis version, back-translation, pre-test and elaboration of the final version. Content validity assessment was conducted by a multidisciplinary committee of experts and consisted of both a quantitative analysis (calculation of content validity coefficients – CVC) and a qualitative analysis (assessment of the experts’ comments and suggestions). The pre-test sample consisted of 30 gamers with variable sociodemographic characteristics. Results The cross-cultural adaptation of the scale followed the proposed protocol, and the CVC was satisfactory (≥ 0.83) for all the structures and equivalences assessed. Most of the suggestions made by the experts were accepted (mainly adjustments and language standardization). The gamers who participated in the pre-test judged the scale easy to understand and did not suggest changes. Discussion The Brazilian version of the IGDS9-SF showed adequate content validity and is available for researchers and clinicians, as well as for the investigation of additional psychometric characteristics.

Resumo O uso da internet tem aumentado exponencialmente a nível mundial. Ainda que ele não seja por si só negativo, já que integra benefícios vários, alguns indivíduos parecem exibir problemas relacionados com o seu uso excessivo, descontrolado e disfuncional. Consequentemente, tem sido crescente, particularmente nas últimas duas décadas, o interesse dos investigadores em explorar este uso, quando excessivo e pouco saudável. Porém, e sendo um tema/constructo tratado por diferentes autores com quadros teóricos também diferentes, são vários os termos usados na literatura para descrever este fenómeno. Neste sentido, este artigo propõe-se a apresentar o trabalho uma revisão de literatura de dois dos conceitos mais usados e espartilhados na literatura científica, ou seja, adição à internet e uso problemático da internet.

Abstract Internet use has increased exponentially worldwide. Although the use itself is not negative, since it integrates several benefits, some individuals seem to show problems related to its excessive, uncontrolled, and dysfunctional use. Therefore, the interest of researchers in exploring this use, when it is excessive and unhealthy, has been growing, especially in the last two decades. However, being a subject/construct treated by different authors with different theoretical frameworks, several terms are used in the literature to describe this phenomenon. Regarding this, this article proposes to present a literature review of two of the most used and shared concepts in the scientific literature, that is, internet addiction and problematic internet use.

Resumen El uso de Internet ha aumentado exponencialmente a nivel mundial. Aunque esto no es por sí solo negativo ya que integra diversos beneficios, algunos individuos parecen presentar problemas relacionados con su uso excesivo, descontrolado y disfuncional. En consecuencia, en las últimas dos décadas ha aumentado cada vez más el interés de los investigadores en estudiar este uso, cuando es excesivo o poco saludable. Sin embargo, y siendo un tema/constructo tratado por diferentes autores con cuadros teóricos también diferentes, son varios los términos usados en la literatura para describir este fenómeno. En este sentido, nos proponemos presentar en este trabajo una revisión de dos de los conceptos más usados y más divididos en la literatura científica, es decir, adición a Internet y uso problemático de Internet.

Résumé L’utilisation d’ Internet a augmenté de manière exponentielle dans le monde. Bien que l’utilisation d’ Internet ne soit pas négative en soi, étant donné qu’elle intègre plusieurs avantages, certaines personnes semblent présenter des problèmes liés à son utilisation excessive, incontrôlée et dysfonctionnelle. En conséquence, l’intérêt des chercheurs pour exploiter cet usage, qu’il soit excessif ou malsain, a augmenté, particulièrement au cours des deux dernières décennies. Cependant, étant un thème/construit traité par différents auteurs avec différents cadres théoriques, plusieurs termes sont utilisés dans la littérature pour décrire ce phénomène. En ce sens, nous proposons de présenter dans cet ouvrage une analyse de deux des concepts les plus utilisés et les plus partagés dans la littérature scientifique, à savoir l’addition à internet et son utilisation problématique.

Background: Empirical research studies have highlighted the need to investigate the underlying cognitions and cognitive variables in relation to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). However, little is known about the possible cognitive-related impairments associated with IGD. Objectives: The present paper extends previous research and uncovers additional key general cognitive-related outcomes of IGD via a systematic review of the empirical literature. Methods: The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) guidelines were adopted. Internet-based bibliographic searches were conducted via seven major electronic databases (i.e., PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Core Collection BIOSIS Citation Index, MEDLINE, SciELO Citation Index, and PubMed) to access studies examining the association between IGD and cognitive outcomes. Results: A total of 17 empirical studies meeting the inclusion criteria that investigated the relationships between IGD and cognitions and/or cognitive-related outcomes were identified. Seven distinct cognitions and another ten distinct cognitive-related impairments associated with IGD were identified. Conclusion: The present review found empirical evidence supporting the association of IGD with particular types of cognitions and specific cognitive-related impairments.

Trastorno por juego en internet, cogniciones sociadas y deterioros cognitivos relacionados: Una revisión sistemática utilizando las directrices PRISMA. Introducción: Investigaciones empíricas han puntualizado la necesidad de indagar sobre las cogniciones subyacentes y las variables cognitivas asociadas con el Trastorno por Juego en Internet (IGD, por sus siglas en inglés). Sin embargo, es escaso el conocimiento sobre los posibles deterioros cognitivos asociados con el IGD. Objetivos: El presente estudio extiende la investigación previa y revela resultados generales de procesos cognitivos del IGD a través de una revisión sistemática de la literatura empírica. Método: Se adoptaron las directrices PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis). Se realizaron búsquedas bibliográficas a través de siete bases de datos electrónicas (p.e., PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Core Collection BIOSIS Citation Index, MEDLINE, SciELO Citation Index y PubMed) para acceder a los estudios que examinan la relación entre IGD y resultados cognitivos. Resultados: Un total de 17 estudios empíricos que examinaban la relación entre IGD y cogniciones y/o resultados cognitivos cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. Se identificaron siete cogniciones distintivas y otros diez deterioros cognitivos relacionados con el IGD. Conclusión: No existe evidencia para sustentar la asociación entre el IGD y determinados tipos de cogniciones y deficiencias cognitivas específicas.