Factors Associated with Prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder among School Going Adolescence of Butwal, Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) refers to uncontrolled gaming behavior despite the occurrence of negative consequences. The use of Internet games is popular among school children. Many studies have been conducted on IGD around the globe. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of IGD among adolescents and the factors associated with it.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 446 students of grades 8, 9, and 10 in Butwal Sub-metropolitan city. A simple random method was used to select schools. Sections of each class of 8, 9, and 10 were selected using a lottery method (for two or more sections in a grade). All the eligible students of the selected section/ grade were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaire and Dichotomous IGD scale-9 were used for data collection. Bivariate analysis was done and 95% confidence interval was used to determine significance.

Results: The prevalence of IGD was found to be 18.9% among school-going adolescents. The associated factors found were male sex (p=0.006), daily playing behavior (p=0.001), availability of personal devices (p=0.005), habit of spending money on games (p<0.001), and presence of regular gaming partners (p=0.005).

Conclusions: IGD is an emerging issue among the young population. Appropriate measures should be taken to control the gaming behavior of students.