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Early-Life Interpersonal and Affective Risk Factors for Pathological Gaming

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Bussone, Silvia, Trentini, Cristina, Tambelli, Renata, Carola, Valeria·2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00423PMC PMC7242761
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Abstract

(IGD) has been proposed to describe a behavioral addiction, which shares many similarities, both physical and psychological, with substance use disorder. Environmental factors, such as interpersonal and relationship dynamics during childhood and adolescence, have been suggested to modulate the onset and trajectories of IGD. However, studies exploring the contributions of dysfunctional family environments to the development of IGD remain limited. This minireview aims to offer an overview of the current knowledge regarding the impacts of early-life interpersonal and relationship dynamics on the development of IGD and to provide a snapshot of the current state of the literature in this field. Specifically, it underlines the modulatory role of early-life relational factors such as a) family function, b) parent-child relationships, c) childhood maltreatment, and d) bullying and cyberbullying on the development of IGD. Consistent with this evidence, therapeutic interventions that aim to "restructure" the emotional ties and familiar dynamics that are known to be associated with dysfunctional behaviors and feelings, and likely promote pathological gaming, are recognized as the most successful clinical therapeutic approaches for IGD.

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  • Childhood trauma is one of the most common risk factors for internet addiction.

    “Among the risk factors for internet addiction, the presence and intervention of parental and family factors have received increasing attention in recent years, among which childhood trauma is one of the most common factors (Bussone et al., 2020; Lo et al., 2021).”

    From The relationship between childhood trauma and internet addiction in adolescents: A meta-analysis (2024) · cites this paper as Bussone et al., 2020

    The Results section, under “Childhood Maltreatment” (page unavailable), links childhood trauma to susceptibility to internet gaming disorder and to addictive use of the internet and online games. It does not establish that childhood trauma is one of the most common risk factors for internet addiction; that comparative claim goes beyond the passage. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bussone, S., Trentini, C., Tambelli, R., & Carola, V.
Affiliations
  • Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
  • Fondazione Santa Lucia (IT)
Corresponding author
Carola, Valeria
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-05-15
Volume
11
Pages
423-423
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00423
PMC
PMC7242761
OpenAlex
W3025347962
Cited by
57
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 1
FWCI
1.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Sapienza Università di Roma
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
internet gaming disorder, gaming addiction, early life risk factors, interpersonal risk factors, family functions, parent-child relationship, child abuse, bullying, cyberbullying, behavioral addiction, therapeutic interventions

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