OBJECTIVES: We aimed to measure the prevalence and length of the problem of pathological video gaming or Internet use, to identify risk and protective factors, to determine whether pathological gaming is a primary or secondary problem, and to identify outcomes for individuals who become or stop being pathological gamers. METHODS: A 2-year, longitudinal, panel study was performed with a general elementary and secondary school population in Singapore, including 3034 children in grades 3 (N = 743), 4 (N = 711), 7 (N = 916), and 8 (N = 664). Several hypothesized risk and protective factors for developing or overcoming pathological gaming were measured, including weekly amount of game play, impulsivity, social competence, depression, social phobia, anxiety, and school performance. RESULTS: The prevalence of pathological gaming was similar to that in other countries (∼9%). Greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming. CONCLUSION: This study adds important information to the discussion about whether video game “addiction” is similar to other addictive behaviors, demonstrating that it can last for years and is not solely a symptom of comorbid disorders.

Introduction: Increase in internet use and video-gaming contributes to public concern on pathological or obsessive play of video games among children and adolescents worldwide. Nevertheless, little is known about the prevalence of pathological symptoms in video-gaming among Singaporean youth and the psychometric properties of instruments measuring pathological symptoms in video-gaming. Materials and Methods: A total of 2998 children and adolescents from 6 primary and 6 secondary schools in Singapore responded to a comprehensive survey questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, video-gaming habits, school performance, somatic symptoms, various psychological traits, social functioning and pathological symptoms of video-gaming. After weighting, the survey data were analysed to determine the prevalence of pathological video-gaming among Singaporean youth and gender differences in the prevalence. The construct validity of instrument used to measure pathological symptoms of video-gaming was tested. Results: Of all the study participants, 8.7% were classified as pathological players with more boys reporting more pathological symptoms than girls. All variables, including impulse control problem, social competence, hostility, academic performance, and damages to social functioning, tested for construct validity, were significantly associated with pathological status, providing good evidence for the construct validity of the instrument used. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of pathological video-gaming among Singaporean youth is comparable with that from other countries studied thus far, and gender differences are also consistent with the findings of prior research. The positive evidence of construct validity supports the potential use of the instrument for future research and clinical screening on Singapore children and adolescents’ pathological video-gaming. Key words: Construct validity, Prevalence of video-gaming, Singapore children and adolescents

The primary aim of the study was to understand the phenomenon of pathological video-gaming by identifying protective factors for its development, and examining the dynamic interplay between protective factors and pathological video-gaming within a framework of change. The study was a 2-year longitudinal study involving 3034 children and adolescents recruited from 6 elementary and 6 secondary schools. Controlling for initial levels of pathological video-gaming, personal strengths and familial factors such as parent–child connectedness, and warm family environment were found to be protective factors for later pathological gaming. Increases in levels of emotional regulation and family environment warmth were related to decreases in pathological video-gaming. Higher initial levels and increases in pathological video-gaming were related to higher levels of later depressive symptoms, controlling for earlier levels of depressive symptoms. The study adds to the growing evidence that pathological video-gaming has potentially serious mental health consequences, in particular, on depression. For health providers who work with pathological video-gamers, the findings suggest that developing self-regulatory skills such as emotional regulation, and improving the family environment are useful strategies.

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults experience various challenges, including information uncertainties, financial pressure, and visit restrictions, which may lead to anxiety about the future. As a protective factor, sense of coherence (SOC) may play a role to reduce some psychological discomfort. This study aimed to analyze the relationships of SOC with anxiety, digital health literacy (DHL), information, and financial satisfaction among older adults during the outbreak. Methods: This is part of a large-scale DHL study with a cross-sectional survey across 41 countries. This study extracted data from three Asian countries (China, the Philippines, and Singapore) and included people aged ≥60. Structural equation modeling with path analysis was utilized to examine the relationships of SOC with anxiety about the future and other variables. Results: A total of 266 older adults were included, with 43.2% expressed anxiety about the future. DHL (β=–0.13, p < 0.05) and SOC (β=–0.26, p = 0.01) were negatively associated with anxiety, while financial and information satisfaction were not. However, financial satisfaction (β = 0.34, p < 0.01) and DHL (β = 0.32, p = 0.01) were positively associated with SOC. Higher SOC further mediated the negative relationships of DHL (β= −0.11, p = 0.004) and financial satisfaction (β= −0.12, p = 0.004) on anxiety of older adults. Conclusions: SOC had direct negative effect on anxiety and mediated the relationships between anxiety and DHL/financial satisfaction. Strategies should be developed to enhance SOC and DHL among older adults, as these capacities may help to manage anxiety during the pandemic.