Sort:  
  • Trending
    • [-]
     6 years ago (edited)

    What sources are you using again? I realised you listed some of the symptoms that can be considered as gaming addiction but to achieve the diagnosis of addiction is not that simple. Since gaming addiction can be categorised as psychological problems, you will need criteria for it. For example, the first ever criteria which have been proposed to be included in the latest edition of DSM is:

    Persistent and recurrent use of games, often with other players, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as indicated by five (or more) of the following in a 12 months period

    • Continued excessive utilization despite psychosocial problems.
    • Deceiving
    • Escapism
    • Functional impairment
    • Loss of interest in other activity
    • Tolerance
    • Withdrawal
    • Unsuccessful attempts to control said behaviours

    In a review journal, published by Kardefelt-Winther D et al, they listed some of the exclusion criteria and simply argued that the following behaviour can't be categorised as a gaming addiction:

    1. “The behaviour is better explained by an underlying disorder (e.g., a depressive disorder or impulse-control disorder).
    2. The functional impairment results from an activity that, although potentially harmful, is the consequence of a willful choice (e.g., high-level sports).
    3. The behaviour can be characterized as a period of prolonged intensive involvement that detracts time and focuses from other aspects of life but does not lead to significant functional impairment or distress for the individual.
    4. The behaviour is the result of a coping strategy.”

    The exclusion criteria number 2 thus rule out people who are professional gamers from being diagnosed with gaming addiction.

    It's not easy to diagnose people with addiction. DSM has been a useful guide but since there is a lot of contradiction in regards to opinion and facts presented by scientists all over the world, the criteria are yet to be published. One is not considered addicted unless they satisfied any of the criteria. For example, people don't diagnose you as having a major depressive disorder unless you satisfy 5 out of 9 symptoms presented in the DSM. Just my 2 cents.

    $0.00
      Reply
      [-]
       6 years ago 

      I like your contribution and its wonderful as a feedback. However, i read a report from World Health Organisation which inspired this topic, and from the first criteria you quoted i could see almost every thing discussed in this article.

      $0.00
        Reply
        [-]
         6 years ago (edited)

        Maybe you have stated most of it but my point is, gaming addiction is still a controversial topic and a grey area of psychiatric disorder. That's why I have stated some of the exclusion criteria, to show you that not everything falls under gaming addiction even though it seems that people were addicted to gaming. People with an underlying psychiatric disorder such as MDD could show symptoms which might signify gaming addiction but it can be a form of coping strategy. The grim thing about medical illnesses especially when we are talking about psychiatric disorders, people often misinterpret such condition and can often lead to anxiety. Having such symptoms don't necessarily mean you have it.

        By the way, gaming disorder was included in the draft of ICD 11 which is yet to be released. The latest one is ICD 10. We will see whether the final verdict of ICD 11 will include gaming disorder or not. It will be presented at the Seventy-second World Health Assembly for endorsement by the Member States in May 2019. Currently, there is no specific guideline which could help clinicians identified people with gaming disorder.