Association between gaming disorder and internalizing symptoms among children and adolescents: A child-parent dyadic study

Despite the well-researched association between problematic video gaming and internalizing symptoms, few studies incorporate parent reports or examine possible moderators for this association. This study examined person- and dyadic-level associations between gaming disorder (GD) and internalizing symptoms among children and adolescents, along with the moderation of expressive suppression, family functioning, and parenting behaviors. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and 121 dyads of parents and their children who played video games at least once a week were recruited. Participants received questionnaires via mail and completed them independently in a paper-and-pencil format. In generalized linear regression and multilevel common fate modeling, child-reported GD and latent GD were treated as the criterion variables, respectively. Despite the significant association between child-reported GD and internalizing symptoms, β = .023, p = .03, the latent association measuring the cross-informant agreement was not significant, β = –.004, p = .86. The only significant moderator was the parent-reported positive parenting behavior in the latent association between GD and internalizing symptoms, β = –.004, p = .04. At the dyadic-level, GD and internet gaming disorder had the same pattern of associations with the other measures, whereas a different pattern emerged at the person-level. This multi-informant measurement may indicate a possible inflation of the self-reported positive association between GD and internalizing symptoms. Positive parenting behavior, including positive response, involvement, and respect, may serve as emotional support, which protects children from resorting to video gaming to alleviate psychological distress.