Tateno Masaru, Matsuzaki Takanobu, Takano Ayumi, Higuchi Susumu
Tokiwa Child Development Center, Tokiwa Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
Department of Psychiatry, National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center, Yokosuka, Japan.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 19;13:995665. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.995665. eCollection 2022.
Digital gaming is the most common leisure activity among children and adolescents in Japan, especially in males. Playing online gaming has become more common among school-age children over the years. As a result, excessive online gaming in younger children has become a significant social problem in Japan. Previous studies have demonstrated that excessive online gaming could cause various mental health issues in children and adolescents. At medical institutions having child and adolescent psychiatry services, there is an increasing number of children and adolescents with various problems related to excessive gaming. The aim of this study was to investigate the current practice of gaming disorder (GD) in clinical settings in Japan.
The subjects of this study were all of 414 child and adolescent psychiatrists certified by the Japanese Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JSCAP). The study questionnaire was mailed to all subjects from the official secretariat of JSCAP. Study subjects were requested to answer the questionnaire anonymously. The survey contained three types of responses: open responses; single and multiple-choice responses; and, responses on a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions regarding GD.
We received 159 responses. The most common reason for a visit to child and adolescent psychiatry service which results in a subsequent diagnosis of GD was school refusal/absenteeism followed by disruption of sleep-awake rhythm. The most common specialized treatment for GD currently offered at child and adolescent psychiatry service is individual psychotherapy. The two most frequently experienced difficulties in the treatment of GD were low motivation to achieve recovery and a large variety of combined problems other than excessive gaming itself. With regard to the three most common psychiatric comorbidities of GD, they were autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression.
The results of our survey revealed that although GD is a behavioral addiction, many children and adolescents with GD first visit child and adolescent psychiatry clinics rather than specialized clinics for addiction which are usually designed and staffed for adult patients. Because it is known that GD is more prevalent among young males, including junior high and high school students, GD has become one of the most important clinical issues in child and adolescent psychiatry today. The important roles of child and adolescent psychiatrists in the treatment of GD has been increasing.
数字游戏是日本儿童和青少年中最常见的休闲活动，在男性中尤为如此。多年来，在线游戏在学龄儿童中变得更加普遍。因此，年幼儿童过度沉迷网络游戏已成为日本一个重大的社会问题。先前的研究表明，过度沉迷网络游戏可能会导致儿童和青少年出现各种心理健康问题。在设有儿童和青少年精神病学服务的医疗机构中，与过度游戏相关的各种问题的儿童和青少年数量日益增多。本研究的目的是调查日本临床环境中游戏障碍（GD）的当前诊疗情况。
本研究的对象为日本儿童和青少年精神医学会（JSCAP）认证的414名儿童和青少年精神科医生。研究问卷由JSCAP的官方秘书处邮寄给所有对象。要求研究对象匿名回答问卷。调查包含三种类型的回答：开放式回答；单项和多项选择题回答；以及五分制李克特量表回答。问卷包括14个关于游戏障碍的问题。
我们收到了159份回复。导致随后被诊断为游戏障碍的儿童和青少年到儿童和青少年精神病学服务机构就诊的最常见原因是拒学/旷课，其次是睡眠-觉醒节律紊乱。目前儿童和青少年精神病学服务机构针对游戏障碍提供的最常见的专门治疗是个体心理治疗。在游戏障碍治疗中最常遇到的两个困难是康复动力不足以及除过度游戏本身之外的各种各样的合并问题。关于游戏障碍最常见的三种精神共病，它们是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）、注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）和抑郁症。
我们的调查结果显示，尽管游戏障碍是一种行为成瘾，但许多患有游戏障碍的儿童和青少年首先就诊的是儿童和青少年精神病学诊所而非通常为成年患者设立并配备人员的专门成瘾诊所。由于众所周知游戏障碍在包括初中生和高中生在内的年轻男性中更为普遍，游戏障碍已成为当今儿童和青少年精神病学中最重要的临床问题之一。儿童和青少年精神科医生在游戏障碍治疗中的重要作用一直在增加。
