Emotional Schemas and Psychological Distress as Mediators Between Internet Gaming Disorder and Experiential Avoidance

ABSTRACT With the global rise in online gaming, elucidating the psychological mechanisms underlying internet gaming disorder (IGD) is essential for effective interventions. The present study examined the indirect relationship between experiential avoidance (EA) and IGD, mediated by emotional schemas and psychological distress, within the Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution (I‐PACE) model. Data were collected from 685 Iranian university students (68.5% female, mean age = 26.73 years, SD = 8.87) who completed the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire‐II (AAQ‐II), Brief Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LESS‐II), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS‐21), and the 20‐item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT‐20). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized model. Correlation analyses showed a significant positive association between EA and IGD ( p < 0.01). However, no significant direct effect was found in the full SEM model after including the mediators ( β = 0.106, p = 0.511). A statistically significant indirect effect was observed through emotional schemas ( β = 0.088, p = 0.030, 95% BC CI [0.009, 0.177]), whereas the indirect effect through psychological distress was at a trend level and did not reach the conventional threshold of statistical significance ( β = 0.052, p = 0.055, 95% BC CI [−0.002, 0.109]). These findings suggest that the association between EA and IGD is primarily mediated by maladaptive emotional schemas. The results emphasize targeting maladaptive emotional schemas and psychological distress in IGD interventions, particularly in non‐Western contexts. However, longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causal pathways.