Identify candidate intervention and prevention targets for internet gaming disorder: Evidence from network analysis and simulation interventions.

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is characterized by persistent and recurrent gaming behavior that can lead to negative psychosocial outcomes. Although the network theory of psychopathology suggests that mental disorders arise from interactions among symptoms, few studies have empirically evaluated how targeting core symptoms affects the broader symptom network. This study aimed to identify candidate prevention and intervention targets for IGD using network analysis combined with simulation-based interventions. Results found that compulsivity emerged as the candidate intervention target under alleviating simulation, whereas loss of interest in alternative activities represented a key candidate prevention target under aggravating simulation. The present findings may help prioritize symptoms for future longitudinal and experimental studies designed to test whether changes in these symptoms produce broader changes in IGD symptomatology. Moreover, this study demonstrates the methodological utility of simulation-based interventions, offering a framework for exploring targeted symptom manipulation in other behavioral and substance-related addictions.