Disordered Gaming: The Role of a Gamer's Distress Profile

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) embodies a persistent and recurrent engagement with video games, to the exclusion of other activities, that cannot be controlled, and with significant impairments in everyday functioning. Previous research suggests that IGD is experienced differently depending on the gamer's profile, while distress symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and stress have been independently associated to the development of IGD. Interestingly, no study to date has aimed to profile gamers based on these three psychopathologies. The present study aimed to (a) profile gamers concerning their depression, anxiety, and stress, and (b) examine the differences in IGD levels between the different profiles of distress. A sample consisting of 968 gamers (18-64 years, M age = 29.54) was assessed with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Latent class analysis (LCA) identified three distinct distress profiles. These encompassed "High-Distress Comorbidity" (HDC; 25.9%), "Medium-Distress Comorbidity" (MDC; 48.7%) and "Low-Distress Comorbidity" (LDC; 25.4%) gamers. As hypothesised, higher distress comorbidity profiles are linked with higher IGD levels. Findings suggest that there are different distress profiles varying by symptom severity, with more distressed gamers presenting with higher IGD levels independent of the specific distress symptom they reported. Thus, differential diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms may not be necessary in the context of IGD treatment, but rather distress behaviours should be targeted concurrently and independent of their nature. Le trouble du jeu sur Internet (TJI) se caractérise par un engagement persistant et récurrent dans les jeux vidéo, à l'exclusion de toute autre activité, qui ne peut être contrôlé et qui entraîne des troubles importants du fonctionnement quotidien. Des recherches antérieures suggèrent que le trouble du jeu sur Internet est vécu différemment selon le profil du joueur, tandis que des symptômes de détresse tels que la dépression, l'anxiété et le stress ont été indépendamment associés au développement du trouble du jeu sur Internet. Il est intéressant de noter qu'aucune étude à ce jour n'a cherché à établir le profil des joueurs en fonction de ces trois psychopathologies. La présente étude visait à (a) établir le profil des joueurs concernant leur dépression, leur anxiété et leur stress, et (b) examiner les différences