Prediction and prevention of problematic game use in South Korea

In the current digital era, video game has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. The widespread use of smartphones and the growth of the mobile gaming industry have led to increased variety and accessibility to video games for individuals of all age groups. Although video game playing may be benign for most people, others may show patterns of problematic game use (PGU), which is characterized by over-prioritization of gaming in daily life and inability to control game use despite negative consequences such as compromised physical and psychological health, academic and professional performance, and interpersonal relationships. According to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) published by the World Health Organization (WHO), if these behaviors persist over an extended period, a Gaming Disorder diagnosis may be considered. It has also been suggested that, as a form of behavioral addiction, Gaming Disorder tends to become more resistant to treatment over time, highlighting the need to early identify and prevent PGU before it follows a chronic course. To achieve this goal, it is essential to identify risk factors and reveal how they may conjointly have varying effects on individuals with PGU vulnerability. In this presentation, I will review a line of research from my lab focusing a) identifying individuals at higher risk for developing PGU, and b) revealing mechanisms in which multiple individual and contextual factors may become associated with PGU, based on studies with diverse samples in South Korea. Clinical implications will also be discussed based on major findings from my lab.