There is emerging evidence that Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is associated with suicidality in young people. Yet, while individuals with IGD also exhibit risk factors of suicidality such as depression and loneliness, existing studies have not clearly delineated how IGD may interrelate with these risk factors in the etiology of suicidality. Moreover, mechanistic pathways to suicidality may differ across genders, and also across game genres, eg., games with high degrees of violence may increase players’ tolerance to pain. This study thus investigates the precise roles of IGD symptoms in the potential pathway to suicidality within young people.
1610 participants completed online surveys through purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria were: residing in Hong Kong in the past 6 months; aged 11-29; and >=3 hours gameplay per week. Ethical approval had been obtained (Ref: EA220044). Samples were categorized into one of four subgroups based on their gender (M/F) and in-game violence (high/low). A comorbidity network of 20 nodes was conceptualized: 8 depressive symptoms from PHQ-8; social and emotional loneliness from De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale; 9 IGD symptoms from IGDS9-SF; and past-month suicidal ideation. For each subgroup, edges between all possible pairs of nodes were estimated by calculating their regularized partial Spearman correlation. Edge weights lower than 0.15 were removed to improve specificity and aid interpretation.
Network structures reveal nuances in potential pathways from IGD to suicidality across gender and in-game violence. Among males, jeopardized relationships or jobs due to gaming (IGD9) is directly linked with having suicidal ideation (SIDAS1). For females exposed to high in-game violence and males, gaming as a means for escape (IGD8) is indirectly linked to suicidal ideation through either depressive symptom (PHQ4) or emotional loneliness. There is no direct link from any IGD symptom to suicidal ideation in females, and for females exposed to low in-game violence, IGD’s effect on suicidal ideation is fully serially mediated by loneliness and depression.
Findings here may inform how resources for suicide prevention can be deployed to those for whom it would matter most. Specifically, it may be justified to expand suicide prevention efforts to reach young Internet gamers, eg., through online game platforms and forums, with particular focus on male gamers who were still there despite having jeopardized their relationships or jobs.