The Relationship Between Impulsive Behavior, Gaming Habits, and Gaming Disorder

The relationship between impulsive behavior and substance dependence is well-established in the literature, however, it needs to be better understood in relation to behavioral dependences like gaming disorder (GD), as studies tend to overlook the domain effect in delay discounting tasks aimed at assessing impulsive behavior. This research investigated the relationship between GD, gaming habits, and impulsive behavior using two delay discounting tasks (monetary and game session time) and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form (IGDS9-SF), whose psychometric properties were analyzed. A total of 290 Brazilian gamers participated in the study. The results demonstrated that the core components of dependence - difficulty in control and continued use despite adverse consequences - were among the main symptoms of GD, regardless of the cultural and sociodemographic differences evaluated. They also suggested that the assessment of impulsive behavior in gamers can be influenced by the domain effect. More impulsive behavior in the gaming context, but not in the monetary context, was associated with a higher risk of gaming disorder. This effect was moderated by weekly game time. Gaming habits, gender, and age did not show a significant effect on the risk of dependence.