Diagnostic Usefulness of an Ultra-Brief Screener to Identify Risk of Online Gaming Disorder for Children and Adolescents

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the diagnostic validity of a three-item ultra-brief screening tool for online gaming disorder in line with the gaming disorder criteria in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision. METHODS: The Three-item Gaming disorder Test-Online-Centered (TIGTOC) was composed of three items using a four-point Likert scale selected from the Internet Game Use-Elicited Symptom Screen (IGUESS). Among a cohort of 2319 young-adolescent Internet users, the baseline data of 228 healthy controls and 45 Internet-gaming-disorder cases were analyzed. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed using mental health specialists’ diagnoses as the gold standard. RESULTS: The ROC curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 86%. Using a cut-off score of 4 from a full range of 0–9, the sensitivity, specificity, and Cronbach’s α were 72%, 90%, and 0.811, respectively. TIGTOC scores was positively associated with time spent on online gaming, depressive symptoms, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, and addictive Internet use. CONCLUSION: The TIGTOC appears to be a brief, valid, and reliable screening tool for online gaming disorder within the community or in primary care settings.