The network and temporal changes among internet gaming disorder symptoms, suicidal ideation, and depressive symptoms among adolescents in Hong Kong

Adolescent Internet gaming disorder (IGD), depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation are significant public health concerns. However, their temporal dynamics and symptom-level interactions in adolescents remain unclear. This study aims to explore the longitudinal relationships and network interactions between IGD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among Hong Kong adolescents. We conducted a one-year, two-wave longitudinal study with 7581 Hong Kong adolescents. The participants completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire in their classrooms. Two trained research assistants administered the surveys, which took approximately 20 min to complete. Cross-lagged panel network analysis was used to examine contemporaneous and temporal associations, with subgroup analyses by gender. Both the contemporaneous and temporal network analyses demonstrated distinct patterns when stratified by gender. In contemporaneous networks, significant differences in the overall structures of male and female adolescents’ networks were observed ( M = 0.10, p < 0.01). “Giving up other activities due to gaming” (IGD5) was a central symptom for males' network, whereas suicidal ideation was the most central symptom for females' network. Longitudinally, depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with subsequent suicidal ideation in both genders. Our findings emphasize important gender-specific differences in these dynamic relationships and offer direction for developing tailored transdiagnostic interventions aimed at addressing the complex interplay between behavioral addictions and emotional disorders among adolescents. • Gender-specific temporal networks of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), depression, and suicidal ideation were revealed. • Centrality differed with IGD symptom “giving up activities” for males and suicidal ideation for females. • Somatic complaints predicted subsequent IGD symptom “giving up activities”. • Depressed affect symptoms predicted subsequent suicidal ideation.