the association between online gaming, social phobia, and depression an internet survey网络游戏之间的关系、社交恐惧症和抑郁一项网络调查.pdf

Wei et al. BMC Psychiatry 2012, 12:92 /1471-244X/12/92 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access The association between online gaming, social phobia, and depression: an internet survey 1 1 2 1,3* Han-Ting Wei , Mu-Hong Chen , Po-Cheng Huang and Ya-Mei Bai Abstract Background: Online gaming technology has developed rapidly within the past decade, and its related problems have received increasing attention. However, there are few studies on the psychiatric symptoms associated with excessive use of online games. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of online gamers, and the association between online gaming hours, social phobia, and depression using an internet survey. Methods: An online questionnaire was designed and posted on a popular online game websites, inviting the online gamers to participate the survey. The content of the questionnaire included demographic data, profiles of internet usage and online gaming, and self-rating scales of Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS). Results: A total of 722 online gamers with a mean age of 21.8 ± 4.9 years completed the online survey within one month. 601 (83.2%) participants were male, and 121 (16.8%) were female. The mean weekly online gaming time was 28.2 ± 19.7 hours, which positively associated with history of online gaming (r = 0.245, p 0.001), total DSSS (r = 0.210, p 0.001), SPIN (r = 0.150, p 0.001), and CIAS (r = 0.290, p 0.001) scores. The female players had a shorter history of online gaming (6.0 ± 3.1 vs. 7.2 ± 3.6 years, p = 0.001) and shorter weekly online gaming hours (23.2 ± 17.0 vs. 29.2 ± 20.2 hours, p = 0.002), but had higher DSSS (13.0 ± 9.3 vs. 10.9 ± 9.