MORAL INCONGRUENCE AND INTERNET GAMING DISORDER

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) lacks clear diagnostic thresholds, with self-reported addiction often serving as the primary indicator of problematic gaming. However, little research has explored factors influencing these self-perceptions. This study examined whether moral incongruence—defined as the interaction between gaming frequency and moral disapproval of gaming—predicts self-reported gaming addiction. Using secondary data from a U.S. census-matched YouGov sample (n = 2,813), moderation analyses found that moral incongruence significantly strengthened the association between gaming frequency and self-reported addiction when using the validated Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10), but not when using the unvalidated NIDA-ASSIST gaming item. Robustness checks using censored and zero-beta inflated regressions confirmed these findings. Results highlight the importance of using validated measures in gaming research and suggest that perceptions of gaming addiction may partly reflect value-based moral conflict rather than behavioral dysregulation alone. Future research should further explore how moral beliefs shape gaming distress.