The Relationship Between Digital Intelligence and Video Game Addiction in Kuwaiti Middle School Students

Background/purpose. This research aims to identify the relationship between digital intelligence and video game addiction among Middle school students, to identify gender differences in digital intelligence, and to reveal the digital intelligence skills that contribute most to predicting video game addiction. Materials/methods. The sample comprised 300 male and female students from the ninth and tenth grades of secondary school in public schools in the State of Kuwait, aged between 14 and 15 years. A qualitative descriptive correlational approach was used, and the Digital Intelligence and Video Game Addiction Scale was administered to them. Some statistical analyses were conducted, such as Pearson's correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the T-test to identify the significance of differences between groups, and multiple regression analysis. Results. The findings of this study showed a statistically significant negative correlation between students' scores on the digital intelligence scale and their scores on the video game addiction scale. It also showed statistically significant differences between males and females in some digital intelligence tasks, namely, management Screen time, cyberbullying management, critical thinking, digital footprint, and total score were significantly higher in males. Significant differences were also found in other digital intelligence tasks (digital emotional intelligence and privacy management) in females' favor. The study results also revealed that the combined effect of digital footprint, digital. Conclusion. The study highlights the link between digital intelligence and video game addiction, identifies differences between males and females in digital intelligence skills, and the extent to which digital intelligence skills contribute to detecting video game addiction.