A paper by An-Pyng Sun (Social Work), Hilarie Cash (reSTART Life), Lawrence Mullen (Public Policy and Leadership), and Cosette Rae (reSTART Life), "Factors Related to the Occurrence of and Recovery from Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Study," was recently accepted to Technology, Mind, and Behavior (an American Psychological Association journal) for publication.
The results of their study revealed 12 subthemes, which can be sequentially and suitably placed into three developmental stages: early exposure to gaming (preschool and elementary school; e.g., parents’ pro-technology values, “socially struggling” since childhood), continuous and progressive engagement (middle school and high school; e.g., self-medication of co-occurring disorders, traumas, and other adverse life experiences), and compulsive use, emergence of symptoms, and treatment-seeking (post-high school/early college; e.g., a lack of parental supervision/accountability, a lack of social support, perceiving self as “too far gone”). These stages provide a clearer understanding of how gaming behaviors progress from normal into pathological. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.
