Gaming Disorder Risk, Gaming Time, and Student Life Satisfaction Among Japanese Students: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study Using the GADIS-A

Background: Problematic gaming has been linked to reduced well-being, but associations between student life satisfaction and gaming-related risk among students remain relatively untested. This pilot cross-sectional study applied the Japanese version of the Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A) on an exploratory basis to a university student sample to examine gaming-related risk classifications and their associations with gaming time and student life satisfaction. Methods: In December 2021, 320 university students in Aichi, Japan, completed an anonymous online survey including the Japanese GADIS-A and five student life satisfaction items. Participants were classified using operational criteria based on the previous GADIS-A scoring framework: gaming disorder (GD), elevated symptoms, and problem frequency. Prevalence estimates were based on the full sample, whereas logistic regression analyses were restricted to current gamers (gaming time > 0 h; n = 244). Results: In the full sample, 35 students (10.9%) met the operational criteria for GD, and 106 (33.1%) had elevated symptoms. Among current gamers, longer gaming time was associated with increased incidence of GD, elevated symptoms, and problem frequency. Conversely, better student life satisfaction was associated with decreased incidence of GD. Conclusions: These results indicate that student life satisfaction may help explain gaming-related risk among university students. Follow-up longitudinal and psychometric studies are required.