Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Aug 2021)
Associations Between Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Internet Gaming Disorder Symptoms Mediated by Depressive Symptoms and Hopelessness Among College Students
Abstract
Chen Chen,1,2 Si Dai,2 Lijuan Shi,3 Yidong Shen,2 Jianjun Ou2 1Academy of Forensic Science, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Forensic Science, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Key Laboratory of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Education, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jianjun OuDepartment of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Middle Renmin Road, Furong District, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 17775861486Email [email protected]: The mediating role of depressive symptoms and hopelessness on the relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms has not yet been elucidated. This study assessed this mediating effect in college students.Participants and Methods: Participants consisted of 1236 freshmen recruited at a local university. Symptoms of ADHD, IGD, depression and hopelessness were measured using self-report scales. The effect of ADHD on IGD mediated by depression and hopelessness was analyzed by Haye’s PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 6) using the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method with 5000 bootstrapped samples.Results: Symptoms of ADHD, depression and hopelessness were common in college students and were strongly associated with the appearance of IGD symptoms. ADHD symptoms of college students impacted their IGD symptoms directly and indirectly via depressive symptoms and hopelessness. The total effect of ADHD symptoms on IGD symptoms was 0.075 (standard error [SE]: 0.009, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.057, 0.093), with a direct effect of 0.037 (SE: 0.010, 95% CI 0.018, 0.056, effect ratio: 49.3%), and total indirect effect was 0.038 (SE: 0.005, 95% CI 0.029, 0.050, effect ratio: 50.7%).Conclusion: Depressive symptoms and hopelessness can mediate the relationship between ADHD and IGD symptoms among college students. These findings point to the importance of evaluating ADHD, depressive and hopelessness symptoms for the prevention and treatment of adult IGD.Keywords: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, internet gaming disorder, depression, hopelessness, mediation effect
