Addict Behav. 2025 Sep 17;172:108499. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108499. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: While sex differences in depressive symptoms and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) are well-documented, the existence of sex differences in their interrelations remains unclear.
METHODS: This longitudinal study of 57,985 Chinese gamers (mean age: 14.12 ± 1.45 years, girls: 45.4 %) assessed sex differences in the association between IGD and depressive symptoms. We analyzed this relationship at two levels: (1) an aggregate level, using total scores from the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) via cross-lagged panel models (CLPM), and (2) a symptom level, examining individual symptoms as nodes in cross-lagged panel network analyses (CLPN). We compared cross-lagged effect strengths and identified key central symptoms (highly influential individual symptoms) and bridge symptoms (symptoms linking IGD and depression) within the IGD-depression network for boys and girls.
RESULTS: Girls showed higher prevalence, incidence, and persistence of depression; boys had higher rates for IGD. A bidirectional association emerged between IGD and depression for both sexes. However, the strength of these reciprocal predictions (IGD ↔ depression) was significantly greater in boys. Additionally, bridge symptoms differed by sex: in boys, the bridge symptoms included Worthlessness, Psychomotor Problems, Suicidal Thoughts, and Escapism. In girls, the bridge symptoms were Suicidal Thoughts, Escapism, Concentration Difficulties, and Anhedonia.
DISCUSSION: Significant sex differences were observed in both the epidemiology and the associations between IGD and depressive symptoms at aggregate and symptom levels. These findings underscore the necessity for sex-specific interventions to effectively address the intertwined nature of IGD and depression among adolescents.
PMID:40974915 | DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108499
