Boosting self-efficacy through experiences of even small accomplishments can help prevent and manage Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), according to a new study.
Samsung Medical Center said Wednesday that a research team led by psychiatry professors Choi Jung-seok and Choi Hong reached these findings after analyzing brain wave (EEG) responses to gaming screens among a total of 91 participants, including 46 adult patients diagnosed with Internet Gaming Disorder and 45 healthy adults.
Internet Gaming Disorder is a condition in which an inability to control gaming causes serious disruption to daily life, including academics, work, and interpersonal relationships. As smartphones and high-performance games have spread rapidly, the global prevalence has soared to 6.7%, a level similar to alcohol addiction. In 2019, when the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Internet gaming disorder as a disease and reflected it in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), controversy continued between the medical community and the gaming industry.
The research team recorded brain waves while showing participants gaming screens and general images, measuring the magnitude of electrical signals (Late Positive Potentials) that appeared in the brain immediately after viewing gaming screens. At the same time, they assessed participants' levels of self-efficacy and interpersonal relationships through surveys.
As a result, when viewing gaming screens, Internet Gaming Disorder patients and the general population showed different brain wave responses in the centro-parietal region of the brain. In an in-depth tracing of where the brain wave signals originated, Internet Gaming Disorder patients also showed higher neural activity in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe than the general population. The area where the response was confirmed in the brains of Internet Gaming Disorder patients is a sensory processing region that connects what one sees with the eyes to what one manipulates with the hands. The researchers interpreted this as possibly the result of a pattern in which, the longer and more repeatedly one plays games, the body reacts first at the mere sight of a screen, leading one to continue gaming before being able to control oneself. They explained that the lower the self-efficacy, the weaker the control to suppress impulses, which can make a person vulnerable to the temptation of gaming.
In fact, the self-efficacy score of Internet Gaming Disorder patients averaged 24.5 points, lower than that of healthy adults (30.3 points), and their interpersonal relationship scores also showed a difference at 76.3 points versus 94.1 points. This tendency also appeared in the brain wave response analysis. Within the Internet Gaming Disorder patient group, an inverse relationship was confirmed: the lower the self-efficacy score, the greater the brain's electrical signals when viewing gaming screens.
"This is the first study to confirm the link between the brain responses of Internet Gaming Disorder patients and their self-efficacy using brain waves as an objective indicator," Professor Choi Jung-seok said. "Positive experiences and lifestyle management that boost self-efficacy could help prevent and manage Internet Gaming Disorder." The findings of this study were published in a recent issue of the international academic journal Frontiers in Public Health.
