Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan, China; Institute of Mental Health of Central South University, Chinese National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hunan Medical Center for Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China.
School of Marxism, Central South University, Changsha, China.
J Affect Disord. 2023 Nov 15;341:104-111. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.077. Epub 2023 Aug 18.
Recent studies have found that emotion dysregulation, negative affect, and metacognitions about online gaming are risk factors for Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, few studies investigated the mechanisms underlying these interactions. The present study aimed to explore the relationships between emotion dysregulation and IGD, and the mediating effects of negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming.
An online survey was conducted with young people (aged 10-24 years) who played video games. 1768 participants were included in this study. Observed variables, including emotion dysregulation, IGD, depression, anxiety, and metacognitions, were measured with self-report scales. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among the variables.
The results showed that emotion dysregulation positively predicted IGD through a fully mediated model which included the independent mediating effects of negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming and their sequential mediating effect. The model explained 76.1 % of the variance in IGD.
This was a cross-sectional study which could not infer causality.
This study emphasizes that negative affect and metacognitions about online gaming mediate the effect of emotion dysregulation on IGD; moreover, metacognition may be a proximal factor of IGD. Thus, improving emotional regulation and modifying maladaptive metacognitions in young people may improve the prevention and treatment of IGD.
最近的研究发现，情绪失调、负性情绪和对网络游戏的元认知是网络游戏障碍（IGD）的风险因素。然而，很少有研究探讨这些相互作用的机制。本研究旨在探讨情绪失调与 IGD 的关系，以及负性情绪和对网络游戏的元认知在其中的中介作用。
本研究采用在线问卷调查的方式，对玩视频游戏的年轻人（10-24 岁）进行了调查。共纳入 1768 名参与者。使用自陈量表测量了情绪失调、IGD、抑郁、焦虑和对网络游戏的元认知等观测变量。采用结构方程模型（SEM）分析变量之间的关系。
结果表明，情绪失调通过完全中介模型正向预测 IGD，该模型包括负性情绪和对网络游戏的元认知的独立中介作用及其顺序中介作用。该模型解释了 IGD 变异的 76.1%。
这是一项横断面研究，不能推断因果关系。
本研究强调，负性情绪和对网络游戏的元认知中介了情绪失调对 IGD 的影响；而且，元认知可能是 IGD 的一个近端因素。因此，改善年轻人的情绪调节能力和修正适应不良的元认知可能有助于预防和治疗 IGD。
