With the inclusion of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in both the DSM-5 and ICD-11, understanding the prevalence and diagnostic discrepancies is crucial for developing appropriate interventions. This study presents a meta-analysis of the prevalence of IGD based on two diagnostic criteria. We systematically searched the PubMed and Web of Science databases. A total of 22 studies were included in the final analysis. The analysis incorporated studies employing the DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria and focused on the impact of various factors, including study location, sample characteristics, sample size, and quality score, on the reported prevalence rates using a random-effects model. The pooled prevalence of IGD is 6.7% (95% CI: 5.7–7.7%). The subgroup analysis indicated significant differences in the prevalence rates of IGD (DSM-5 criteria) and GD (ICD-11 criteria) (Q b = 38.46, p < 0.01). There were also significant differences in IGD prevalence rates between different scales (Q b = 54.23, p < 0.001). Our findings indicate that different diagnostic criteria and different assessment scales have a significant impact on the prevalence of IGD. This underscores the importance of adopting standardized methodologies to guide public health interventions. However, given the limited research based on ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, further investigation is necessary to determine the variations in prevalence rates of IGD under different diagnostic standards.

With the inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in both the DSM-5 and ICD-11, understanding the prevalence and diagnostic discrepancies is crucial for developing appropriate interventions. This study presents a meta-analysis of the prevalence of IGD based on two diagnostic criteria. We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science databases. 17 studies were included in the final analysis, The analysis incorporated studies employing the DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria and focused on the impact of various factors, including study location, sample size, and quality score, on the reported prevalence rates using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity and publication bias were analyzed using an I2 test and Galbraith plots , The prevalence of IGD varied among the selected studies, with a general pooled prevalence of 5% (95% CI: 3%–7%). Subgroup analysis indicated that the prevalence rates of IGD (DSM-5 criteria) and GD (ICD-11 criteria) do not show significant differences. DSM-5-based scales yielded varied results, while heterogeneity among the studies was high (I2 = 98.50). In contrast, ICD-11-based scales produced more consistent and less variable findings. Our findings highlight that assessment scales, not diagnostic criteria, impact IGD prevalence. This underscores the importance of adopting standardized methodologies to guide public health interventions. However, given the limited research based on ICD-11 diagnostic criteria, further investigation is necessary to determine the variations in prevalence rates of IGD under different diagnostic standards.

Background/Objectives: Social interaction may be associated with sleep health, but longitudinal evidence among working-age adults is limited, and ceiling-concentrated scores may complicate linear modeling. We examined baseline social interaction, three-year follow-up sleep quality, and the exploratory role of life satisfaction. Methods: Data came from 487 adults aged 20–58 years surveyed in 2020 and 2023. Social interaction was assessed using the 18-item Index of Social Interaction (ISI). Normal sleep required at least 6 h of sleep and adequate restfulness. Models were adjusted for baseline sleep, demographics, lifestyle, health, depression, and anxiety. The ISI functional form was assessed using natural cubic splines and a piecewise model with a knot at 14. Results: In the initial linear summary model, a higher ISI score was associated with normal follow-up sleep (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.09–1.42). The spline model fit better (likelihood-ratio χ² = 19.69, df = 2, p < 0.001). Below 14, each 1-point increase was associated with higher odds of normal sleep (OR = 2.81, 95% CI: 1.64–4.82); no additional association was observed at 14 or higher (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.83–1.19). The ISI × life satisfaction interaction was sensitive to parameterization. Spline-based analysis showed an average indirect association through life satisfaction (estimate = 0.0077, 95% bootstrap CI: 0.0019–0.0153), while direct and total associations were not significant. ISI was associated with restfulness but not duration. Conclusions: The ISI–sleep association was nonlinear, concentrated in lower scores, and plateaued near the upper end. Life-satisfaction findings were exploratory; concurrent measurement precluded causal mediation inference.

Background/Objectives: School refusal tendency is an important school adaptation issue, but its upstream psychosocial correlates remain insufficiently understood. We examined whether baseline multidimensional social interaction was prospectively associated with later school refusal tendency and whether an exploratory statistical indirect association was observed through psychological and behavioral difficulties. Methods: This three-year longitudinal observational study included 314 students in grades 5–9 aged ≥12 years at baseline in 2020 and followed through 2023. Social interaction was assessed using the Index of Social Interaction (ISI), psychological and behavioral difficulties using the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and school refusal tendency using a parent-reported binary item. Adjusted regression and Monte Carlo product-of-coefficients analyses were conducted. Results: School refusal tendency was observed in 84 participants (26.8%). Higher baseline ISI scores were associated with lower follow-up SDQ total difficulties (β = −0.830, 95% CI: −1.033 to −0.627) and lower odds of school refusal tendency (OR = 0.832, 95% CI: 0.741–0.934). The indirect effect through follow-up SDQ total difficulties was significant (−0.120, 95% CI: −0.193 to −0.055). After adjustment for baseline SDQ total difficulties, the indirect effect remained significant (−0.067, 95% CI: −0.124 to −0.020); Firth and parsimonious models yielded similar estimates. Baseline-domain-adjusted analyses retained indirect effects through emotional symptoms, peer problems, and internalizing problems. Conclusions: Higher baseline multidimensional social interaction was associated with lower subsequent psychological and behavioral difficulties and school refusal tendency. Baseline-SDQ-adjusted analyses supported an exploratory indirect association, particularly through internalizing-related difficulties; however, concurrent assessment of follow-up SDQ and school refusal precludes causal interpretation.

Brief campus-based interventions for university students with elevated internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms have received little study. This randomized trial evaluated a five-session group program focused on gaming motives, self-regulation, and alternative sources of competence and self-worth. Sixty-three adult students at a Chinese vocational college who scored at least 20 on an adapted Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents were randomized to the program (n = 31) or an information-only control condition (n = 32). Assessments were scheduled at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and one month later. Because post-randomization outcome data were unavailable for 19 participants, the comparative analyses were restricted to 44 completers. The originally planned baseline-adjusted ANCOVA showed a lower adjusted T1 IGD score in the intervention group than in the control group (adjusted difference = −4.62, 95% CI −7.33 to −1.91, p = 0.0013). In a post hoc linear mixed-effects model, the between-group difference in change from baseline to post-intervention was −5.16 points (95% CI −7.81 to −2.51; Hedges g = −1.03). At one month, the difference was smaller and not statistically significant (−1.67 points, 95% CI −4.31 to 0.98). None of the secondary outcomes showed a significant interaction. Overall attrition was 30.2%. These preliminary findings concern selected completers rather than an intention-to-treat effect, and the between-group difference was not evident at one month. Retrospective registration, unavailable outcomes for non-completers, and post hoc analyses limit the strength of the inference. The trial was retrospectively registered in UMIN-CTR (UMIN000055209) on 9 August 2024.