Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire: The Development and Validation of a Screening Tool for ICD-11 Gaming Disorder in Adolescents

BACKGROUND: Gaming disorder (GD) has been recognized as an official diagnostic entity in the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). However, the majority of previous studies used different instruments, which are not fully consistent with the concept of GD in ICD-11. The development of a screening assessment instrument based on ICD-11 for this new disease entity is very urgent and important. METHODS: The ICD-11 Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire (GDSQ), based on the ICD-11 diagnostic guidelines for GD, was developed by a team of GD experts. A total of 7,790 adolescents were included in this study. Criterion validity was assessed by GDSQ, Video Gaming Dependency Scale (VGDS), weekly game playing time, weekly game video viewing time, and monthly money spent on games. Item structure was measured by factorial analysis. Discrimination between GD and non-GD was examined based on the receiver characteristic curve (ROC). RESULTS: The GDSQ was very well described by three symptoms of GD (i.e., impaired control, increasing priority to gaming, and continued use despite the occurrence of negative consequences). The internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.964) with good criterion validity and good discriminatory power. The optimal cutoff point for determining the profile of gamers was found to be ≥62 points. The GDSQ revealed that the prevalence of GD was 2.27% in this adolescent sample. CONCLUSION: The ICD-11–based GDSQ is a successfully validated measurement scale for GD among adolescents. This study provides a new tool (GDSQ) for us to effectively identify individuals with risk of GD in medical and non-medical settings.