Emotional Dysregulation in Preschool Age Predicts Later Media Use and Gaming Disorder Symptoms in Childhood

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of early Emotional Dysregulation (ED) at preschool age as a risk factor or predictor of later media use behavior and Gaming Disorder (GD) in school age. Methods: 80 patients (63.7% male; mean age = 4.2, SD = 1.23) who had attended a special outpatient program for preschoolers at measuring point time t1 were contacted at measuring point time t2 (mean age = 9.2, SD = 2.03). At t1, the comprehensive clinical assessment comprised Child Behavior Checklist—Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP). At t2, parents completed a questionnaire on their children's media availability, usage times, and GD. Results: ED predicts a more intense use of digital media in the future. The daily average screen-use time at t2 varies significantly between the groups (148 min for children with ED at t1 and 85 min for children without ED at t1). The intensity of media use can be considered a significant predictor for the presence of a GD in dimensional assessment. When GD is classified categorically, according to the DSM-5 criteria, there is no significant correlation between ED and later GD diagnosis, neither between screen-use time and GD diagnosis. However, at dimensional level, preschool children with ED show significantly higher GD symptom scores at 9 years of age. Conclusion: ED at preschool age is strongly associated with time spent video gaming and GD symptoms 5 years later. Our results strongly indicate that emotion dysregulation in preschool children is a risk factor for later problematic video game playing behavior. This strengthens the concept of ED in the etiology of media use and provides potential targets for early GD prevention.