Alfaleh Amjad, Alzaher Abrar, Alkattan Abdullah, Alabdulkareem Khaled, Ibrahim Mona H
Research and Planning Unit, General Directorate of School Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Research, Assisting Deputyship for Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2024 Aug 21;99(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s42506-024-00165-9.
Video gaming is a popular leisure activity among adolescents. Those who play excessively are in danger of educational and social drawbacks and may become addicted to video gaming. Several published studies determined the prevalence of GD among children in specific Saudi regions. However, the current study assessed the national prevalence of video gaming disorder (GD) and its risk factors among school students in Saudi Arabia.
A school-based survey was conducted among adolescents in all regions of Saudi Arabia during the academic year 2021-2022. A multistage stratified cluster sampling technique was used to select the school students. An Arabic-validated version of the 9-item dichotomous (yes/no) GD Scale based on the DSM-5 criteria was used to determine GD prevalence among the students. The score ranged from zero to nine (0-9). Participants who scored five or more were deemed as having GD. Students who scored less than five were classified as normal gamers (score 0-1) or risky gamers (score 2-4).
We recruited 5332 school students. Their mean age was 15.5 ± 1.7 years, and almost half of them were males (50.7%). According to the GD score, the prevalence of normal gamers was 39.08% (N = 1714), risky gamers 40.47% (N = 1775), and those with GD was, 20.45% (N = 897). Logistic regression was performed to determine the association between video gaming disorder and all the gathered variables, which include age, educational grade, sex, types of video gaming, and categories of video games played. The results showed that nationality, age, educational grade, sex, using only mobile devices to play, and playing puzzle and sports games were not associated with video gaming disorder. On the other hand, it was revealed that using tablets, game consoles, PCs; having multiple devices; and playing online, fighting, car racing, war, and adventure games were significantly linked to GD.
The prevalence of GD was 20.45% among Saudi school students who play video games. Utilizing more than one type of gaming device and playing games in the fighting, war, and multiplayer categories via an online connection were significantly linked to having GD. To limit video gaming addiction, we encourage screening, diagnosing, and treating disordered video gamers early. In addition, governmental authorities and video game companies should discuss and revise numerous policy measures to minimize the accessibility of video games, limit the harms and risks related to them, and assist video gamers in becoming effective members of society.
电子游戏是青少年中一项受欢迎的休闲活动。那些过度玩游戏的人面临教育和社交方面的不利影响，并且可能沉迷于电子游戏。一些已发表的研究确定了沙特特定地区儿童中游戏障碍（GD）的患病率。然而，当前的研究评估了沙特阿拉伯在校学生中电子游戏障碍（GD）的全国患病率及其风险因素。
在2021 - 2022学年期间，对沙特阿拉伯所有地区的青少年进行了一项基于学校的调查。采用多阶段分层整群抽样技术来选择在校学生。使用基于《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第五版（DSM - 5）标准的经过阿拉伯语验证的9项二分法（是/否）游戏障碍量表来确定学生中游戏障碍的患病率。分数范围为零至九（0 - 9）。得分5分及以上的参与者被视为患有游戏障碍。得分低于5分的学生被分类为正常游戏玩家（得分0 - 1）或有风险的游戏玩家（得分2 - 4）。
我们招募了5332名在校学生。他们的平均年龄为15.5 ± 1.7岁，其中近一半是男性（50.7%）。根据游戏障碍得分，正常游戏玩家的患病率为39.08%（N = 1714），有风险的游戏玩家为40.47%（N = 1775），患有游戏障碍的为20.45%（N = 897）。进行逻辑回归以确定电子游戏障碍与所有收集到的变量之间的关联，这些变量包括年龄、教育年级、性别、电子游戏类型以及所玩电子游戏的类别。结果表明，国籍、年龄、教育年级、性别、仅使用移动设备玩游戏以及玩益智和体育游戏与电子游戏障碍无关。另一方面，研究发现使用平板电脑、游戏机、个人电脑；拥有多种设备；以及玩在线、格斗、赛车、战争和冒险游戏与游戏障碍显著相关。
在玩电子游戏的沙特在校学生中，游戏障碍的患病率为20.45%。使用多种类型的游戏设备以及通过在线连接玩格斗、战争和多人游戏类别与患有游戏障碍显著相关。为了限制电子游戏成瘾，我们鼓励早期筛查、诊断和治疗有游戏障碍的玩家。此外，政府当局和电子游戏公司应讨论并修订众多政策措施，以尽量减少电子游戏的可及性，限制与之相关的危害和风险，并帮助电子游戏玩家成为对社会有用的成员。
