Application of the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases gaming disorder criteria to treatment-seeking patients: Comparison with the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Internet gaming disorder criteria
Open accessAbstract
Background and aims: The World Health Organization included gaming disorder (GD) in the eleventh revision of International Classification of Diseases in 2019. Due to the lack of diagnostic tools for GD, a definition has not been adequately applied. Therefore, this study aimed to apply an operationalized definition of GD to treatment-seekers. The relationship between the diagnoses of GD and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was also examined. Methods: Study participants comprised 241 treatment-seekers who had engaged in excessive gaming and experienced related problems. Psychiatrists applied the GD diagnostic criteria to the participants using a diagnostic form developed for this study. Information on gaming behavior and functional impairment was obtained through face-to-face interviews conducted by clinical psychologists. Results: In total, 78.4 and 83.0% of the participants fulfilled the GD and IGD diagnostic criteria, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of GD diagnosis were both high when the IGD diagnosis was used as the gold standard. Participants with GD preferred online PC and console games, spent significantly more time gaming, and showed a higher level of functional impairment compared to those who did not fulfill the GD diagnostic criteria. Discussion and Conclusion: The definition of GD can be successfully applied to treatment-seekers with excessive gaming and related problems. A high concordance of GD and IGD diagnoses was found in those participants with relatively severe symptoms. The development and validation of a diagnostic tool for GD should be explored in future studies.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Many adolescent gaming disorder patients reported problems including reversal of day-night sleep-wake patterns, skipping meals due to gaming, physical violence toward others and hitting or breaking things when asked to stop or reduce gaming, poor school grades or work performance, and absence from school or work.
“Many adolescent gaming disorder patients reported problems including reversal of day-night sleep-wake patterns, skipping meals due to gaming, physical violence toward others and hitting or breaking things when asked to stop or reduce gaming, poor school grades or work performance, and absence from school or work 201 .”
From Emerging experience with selected new categories in the <scp>ICD</scp>‐11: complex <scp>PTSD</scp>, prolonged grief disorder, gaming disorder, and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (2022) · cites this paper as [201]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEast Asian countries, including South Korea, Japan and China, have been more proactive in developing wide-ranging public health interventions and treatment programs for gaming problems.
“East Asian countries - including South Korea, Japan and China - have been more proactive in developing wideranging public health interventions and treatment programs for gaming problems 148,201,202 .”
From Emerging experience with selected new categories in the <scp>ICD</scp>‐11: complex <scp>PTSD</scp>, prolonged grief disorder, gaming disorder, and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (2022) · cites this paper as [201]
The Introduction describes clinical diagnostic studies in Taiwan and Korea, and the Methods describe patients receiving treatment at a Japanese medical center. Neither passage addresses whether South Korea, Japan and China have developed wide-ranging public-health interventions or treatment programs, or whether they have been more proactive than other countries. Searches for those countries, policy responses and treatment programs found no supporting discussion in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed.
Carter, M. J. (2014) · Therapeutic Recreation Journal · Cited by 15,154 · see citing works
Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research
Billieux, J., Schimmenti, A., Khazaal, Y., Maurage, P., & Heeren, A. (2015) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.009 · Cited by 920 · see citing works
Scholars’ open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 Gaming Disorder proposal
Aarseth, E., Bean, A. M., Boonen, H., Colder Carras, M., Coulson, M., Das, D., Deleuze, J., Dunkels, E., Edman, J., Ferguson, C. J., et al. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.5.2016.088 · Cited by 629 · see citing works
Mihara, S., & Higuchi, S. (2017) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/pcn.12532 · Cited by 611 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Since the disclosure of diagnostic criteria in 2013, research evidence on IGD has been accumulated in epidemiology (Fam, 2018; Mihara & Higuchi, 2017), neurobiology (FauthB€uhler & Mann, 2017; Kuss, Pontes, & Griffiths, 2018), clinical assessment (King et al., 2020), treatment (King et al., 2017;…”
BackgroundSelf-citationRehbein, F., Kliem, S., Baier, D., Mößle, T., & Petry, N. M. (2015) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.12849 · Cited by 567 · see citing works
Gaming disorder: Its delineation as an important condition for diagnosis, management, and prevention
Saunders, J. B., Hao, W., Long, J., King, D. L., Mann, K., Fauth-Bühler, M., Rumpf, H.-J., Bowden-Jones, H., Rahimi-Movaghar, A., Chung, T., et al. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.039 · Cited by 489 · see citing works
Self-citationGriffiths, M. D., van Rooij, A. J., Kardefelt‐Winther, D., Starčević, V., Király, O., Pallesen, S., Müller, K. W., Dreier, M., Carras, M. C., Prause, N., et al. (2015) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.13057 · Cited by 451 · see citing works
Prevalence of internet gaming disorder in adolescents: A meta‐analysis across three decades
Fam, J. Y. (2018) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12459 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Screening and assessment tools for gaming disorder: A comprehensive systematic review
King, D. L., Chamberlain, S. R., Carragher, N., Billieux, J., Stein, D., Mueller, K., Potenza, M. N., Rumpf, H. J., Saunders, J., Starcevic, V., et al. (2020) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101831 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Self-citationA weak scientific basis for gaming disorder: Let us err on the side of caution
van Rooij, A. J., Ferguson, C. J., Colder Carras, M., Kardefelt-Winther, D., Shi, J., Aarseth, E., Bean, A. M., Bergmark, K. H., Brus, A., Coulson, M., et al. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.19 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Neurobiological correlates in Internet gaming disorder: a systematic literature review
Kuss, D. J., Pontes, H. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00166 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
Treatment of Internet gaming disorder: An international systematic review and CONSORT evaluation
King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., Wu, A. M. S., Doh, Y. Y., Kuss, D. J., Pallesen, S., Mentzoni, R., Carragher, N., & Sakuma, H. (2017) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.04.002 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Treatments of internet gaming disorder: a systematic review of the evidence
Zajac, K., Ginley, M. K., & Chang, R. (2020) · Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/14737175.2020.1671824 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Jo, Y. S., Bhang, S., Choi, J. S., Lee, H., Lee, S., & Kweon, Y. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm8070945 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Internet gaming disorder in adolescence: Psychological characteristics of a clinical sample
Torres-Rodríguez, A., Griffiths, M. D., Carbonell, X., & Oberst, U. E. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.75 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Billieux, J., King, D. L., Higuchi, S., Achab, S., Bowden-Jones, H., Hao, W., Long, J., Lee, H. K., Potenza, M. N., Saunders, J. B., et al. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.036 · Cited by 190 · see citing works
Self-citationKirály, O., Griffiths, M. D., King, D. L., Lee, H., Lee, S., Bányai, F., Zsila, Á., Takács, Z. K., & Demetrovics, Z. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.050 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
The influence of game genre on Internet gaming disorder
Na, E., Choi, I., Lee, T.-H., Lee, H., Rho, M. J., Cho, H., Jung, D. J., & Kim, D. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.033 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Neurobiological correlates of internet gaming disorder: Similarities to pathological gambling
Fauth‐Bühler, M., & Mann, K. F. (2015) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.11.004 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Ko, C.-H., Lin, H.-C., Lin, P.-C., & Yen, J.-Y. (2020) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0004867419881499 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Paschke, K., Austermann, M. I., & Thomasius, R. (2020) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm9040993 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Eichenbaum, A., Kattner, F., Bradford, D. E., Gentile, D. A., & Green, C. S. (2015) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2015.0092 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Stavropoulos, V., Anderson, E. L., Beard, C. L., Latifi, M. Q., Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2018.10.001 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
King, D. L., Russell, A. M. T., Delfabbro, P., & Polisena, D. (2020) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106311 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Baggio, S., Dupuis, M., Studer, J., Spilka, S., Daeppen, J., Simon, O., Berchtold, A., & Gmel, G. E. (2015) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.13192 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Gamers’ insights into the phenomenology of normal gaming and game “addiction”: A mixed methods study
Carras, M. C., Porter, A. M., van Rooij, A. J., King, D. L., Lange, A., Carras, M., & Labrique, A. B. (2017) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.029 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
The concept of “harm” in Internet gaming disorder
King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.24 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Müller, K. W., Beutel, M. E., Dreier, M., & Wölfling, K. (2019) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.140 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Aboujaoude, E. N. (2016) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.009 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Ryu, H., Lee, J. Y., Choi, A. R., Chung, S. J., Park, M., Bhang, S., Kwon, J.-G., Kweon, Y., & Choi, J. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm8020202 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Reed, G. M., First, M. B., Billieux, J., Cloitre, M., Briken, P., Achab, S., Brewin, C. R., King, D. L., Kraus, S. W., & Bryant, R. A. (2022) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.20960 · Cited by 182 · see citing works
Delayed sleep-wake phase disorder and its related sleep behaviors in the young generation.
Futenma, K., Takaesu, Y., Komada, Y., Shimura, A., Okajima, I., Matsui, K., Tanioka, K., & Inoue, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1174719 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Yen, J., Higuchi, S., Lin, P., Lin, P., Chou, W., & Ko, C. (2022) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00079 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Self-citationGaming disorder and the COVID-19 pandemic: Treatment demand and service delivery challenges
King, D. L., Achab, S., Higuchi, S., Bowden‐Jones, H., Müller, K. W., Billieux, J., Starčević, V., Saunders, J. B., Tam, P., & Delfabbro, P. (2022) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00011 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationGaming disorder: current research directions
Király, O., Potenza, M. N., & Demetrovics, Z. (2022) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101204 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Larrieu, M., Fombouchet, Y., Billieux, J., & Décamps, G. (2023) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2023.107824 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Fong, T. C. T., Cheng, Q., Pai, C. Y., Kwan, I., Wong, C. L. H., Cheung, S. H., & YIP, P. S. F. (2023) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115774 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Ballou, N., & Zendle, D. I. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107140 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
The cost burden of problematic internet usage
Rumpf, H., Effertz, T., & Montag, C. (2022) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101107 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Ko, C., Király, O., Demetrovics, Z., Griffiths, M. D., Kato, T. A., Tateno, M., & Yen, J. (2023) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2023.00059 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Saunders, J. B., Rumpf, H., Carragher, N., & Poznyak, V. B. (2025) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-025-00631-0 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Tateno, M., Matsuzaki, T., Takano, A., & Higuchi, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.995665 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationHong, Y. N., Hwang, H., Starcevic, V., Choi, T. Y., Kim, T. H., & Han, D. H. (2023) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/pcn.13522 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Yen, J., Chou, W., Liao, H.-Y., & Ko, C. (2022) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-022-00459-y · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Király, O., Zhang, J., Demetrovics, Z., & Browne, D. T. (2021) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2021.12.003 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Ker, C.-R., Wu, C., Lee, C., Wang, S., & Chan, T. (2021) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94790-5 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Yen, J., Király, O., Griffiths, M. D., Demetrovics, Z., & Ko, C. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2024.00066 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Oka, T., Kubo, T., Murakami, M., & Kobayashi, N. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2023.00076 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Servidio, R., Griffiths, M., Boca, S., & Demetrovics, Z. (2023) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2023.100482 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The nature and characteristics of problem gaming, with a focus on ICD-11 diagnoses
Saunders, J. B., Chan, G., Leung, J., Stjepanović, D., & Connor, J. P. (2024) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0000000000000949 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Amendola, S. (2023) · Addiction Research & Theory · doi:10.1080/16066359.2023.2173743 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Tunçtürk, M., Karaçetin, G., Ermiş, Ç., Çıray, R. O., Can, M. Ş., Yesilkaya, C., Atay, A., Alkaş, G. E., Kasap, D., Guney, O., et al. (2023) · Dubai Medical Journal · doi:10.1159/000530318 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Nalwoga, V., Kizito, S., Kigongo, E., Atwine, P., & Kabunga, A. (2024) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s454304 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Song, Y., Huang, Y., Zheng, Q., Yang, X., Guo, Y., Geng, Y., Gou, H., Bu, J., Jia, T., Zhou, G., et al. (2025) · Brain stimulation · doi:10.1016/j.brs.2025.10.025 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Ko, C., & Yen, J. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42825-9_164-1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Network analysis of additional clinical features of (Internet) gaming disorder
Martončik, M., Adamkovic, M., & Ropovik, I. (2024) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.2021 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Yen, J., Higuchi, S., Ko, C., & Su, S. (2022) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-022-00444-5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationArtikel Review: Dampak Kecanduan Bermain Game Terhadap Kesehatan Mental
Putri, M. Y., Yuliana, Y., Yulastri, A., Erianti, Z., & Izzara, W. A. (2023) · Jurnal Psikologi dan Konseling West Science · doi:10.58812/jpkws.v1i05.827 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The predictive power of impaired control after controlling for correlates of gaming disorder
Kowalik, B. A., Delfabbro, P., & King, D. L. (2024) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100472 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ko, C., & Yen, J. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51366-5_164 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ballou, N., & Zendle, D. I. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/9ejhk · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Fang, Y., Liu, Y., Li, L., Ghahremani, D. G., Chen, J., Okita, K., Guo, W., & Liao, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1134561 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Song, Y., Huang, Y., Zheng, Q., Yang, X., Guo, Y., Gou, H., Bu, J., Jia, T., Zhou, G., Shi, J., et al. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.07.20.25331859
Fajar, D. P., Mulyana, D., Dida, S., & Raksanagara, A. (2025) · Societies · doi:10.3390/soc15110317
Social Media Usage Profiles: A Multidimensional Approach Using Cluster AnalysisPreprint
Carbonell-Colomer, M., Brotóns, E. B., & Giráldez, C. A. M. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6121933
Challenging Case: “Digital Addiction” in a Neurodivergent Adolescent
Tariq, M., Genovese, A., & Augustyn, M. C. (2026) · Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics · doi:10.1097/dbp.0000000000001464
Tateno, M., Shimode, T., Ono, K., Shimomura, R., Shiraishi, E., Nanba, K., Tateno, Y., & Takano, A. (2026) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports · doi:10.1002/pcn5.70314
Social Media Usage Profiles: A Multidimensional Approach Using Cluster AnalysisPreprint
Carbonell-Colomer, M., Brotóns, E. B., & Giráldez, C. A. M. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6623444
Aung, N. (2026) · Health and population. Perspectives and issues · doi:10.5005/hppi-11041-0049
de Ternay, J., Simon, O., Baggio, S., & Billieux, J. (2026) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100701
Substanzen und Verhaltenssüchte
Lorenz, C. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-73257-1_5
Blandon, J. A., Carmona, A., González-Santos, B. J., Ivern, J., Beranuy, M., Griffiths, M. D., Carbonell, X., & Puerta-Cortés, D. X. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1913038
- Authors
- Higuchi, S., Nakayama, H., Matsuzaki, T., Mihara, S., & Kitayuguchi, T.
- Affiliations
- Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Higuchi, Susumu
- Venue
- Journal of Behavioral Addictions
- Publisher
- Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
- Published
- 2021-04-16
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 149-158
- ISSN
- 2062-5871 (ISSN-L)
- 2063-5303
- PMC
- PMC8969863
- OpenAlex
- W3122173405
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 10.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Behavioral Addictions (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Keywords
- gaming disorder, internet gaming disorder, ICD-11, DSM-5, diagnostic criteria, treatment-seeking patients, sensitivity and specificity, functional disability, excessive gaming, online games, diagnostic tool development
- MeSH terms
- Internet Addiction Disorder, Adolescent, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Sensitivity and Specificity, International Classification of Diseases, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
