Internet Gaming Disorder Does Not Predict Mood, Anxiety or Substance Use Disorders in University Students: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Guilherme Borges (), Corina Benjet, Ricardo Orozco, Yesica Albor, Eunice V. Contreras, Iris R. Monroy-Velasco, Praxedis C. Hernández-Uribe, Patricia M. Báez-Mansur, María A. Covarrubias Diaz Couder, Guillermo E. Quevedo-Chávez, Raúl A. Gutierrez-García and Nydia Machado
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Guilherme Borges: Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
Corina Benjet: Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
Ricardo Orozco: Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
Yesica Albor: Center for Global Mental Health, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Mexico City 14370, Mexico
Eunice V. Contreras: Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada 22860, Mexico
Iris R. Monroy-Velasco: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo 25125, Mexico
Praxedis C. Hernández-Uribe: Secretaría de la Unidad Cuajimalpa, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City 14387, Mexico
Patricia M. Báez-Mansur: Universidad La Salle Victoria, Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
María A. Covarrubias Diaz Couder: Coordinación de Investigación, Universidad la Salle Noroeste, Ciudad Obregón 85019, Mexico
Guillermo E. Quevedo-Chávez: Coordinación de Psicología, Universidad la Salle Cancún, Cancún 77560, Mexico
Raúl A. Gutierrez-García: Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Universidad De La Salle Bajío, Salamanca 36700, Mexico
Nydia Machado: Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85059, Mexico

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-8

Abstract: We seek to evaluate whether Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) among university students in Mexico during their first year at university predicts a long list of mental disorders a year later, controlling for baseline mental health disorders as well as demographics. This is a prospective cohort study with a one-year follow-up period conducted during the 2018–2019 academic year and followed up during the 2019–2020 academic year at six Mexican universities. Participants were first-year university students (n = 1741) who reported symptoms compatible with an IGD diagnosis at entry (baseline). Outcomes are seven mental disorders (mania, hypomania, and major depressive episodes; generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder; alcohol use disorder and drug use disorder), and three groups of mental disorders (mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders) at the end of the one-year follow-up. Fully adjusted models, that included baseline controls for groups of mental disorders, rendered all associations null. The association between baseline IGD and all disorders and groups of disorders at follow-up was close to one, suggesting a lack of longitudinal impact of IGD on mental disorders. Conflicting results from available longitudinal studies on the role of IGD in the development of mental disorders warrant further research.

Keywords: internet gaming disorder (IGD); anxiety; depression; substance use disorders; longitudinal; epidemiology; Mexico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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