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Why is Internet gaming disorder more prevalent among Chinese male than female adolescents? The role of cognitive mediators

•Understanding the sex difference of IGD may facilitate sex-specific interventions.•The sex difference in IGD prevalence was attributable to maladaptive cognitions.•Modifying maladaptive cognitions may reduce the high IGD prevalence among males. Adolescent males were consistently reported to have a...

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Published in:Addictive behaviors 2021-01, Vol.112, p.106637-106637, Article 106637
Main Authors: Yu, Yanqiu, Mo, Phoenix K.H., Zhang, Jianxin, Li, Jibin, Lau, Joseph T.F.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:•Understanding the sex difference of IGD may facilitate sex-specific interventions.•The sex difference in IGD prevalence was attributable to maladaptive cognitions.•Modifying maladaptive cognitions may reduce the high IGD prevalence among males. Adolescent males were consistently reported to have a higher prevalence of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) than females. The mechanisms underlying the sex difference were potentially important for designing sex-specific interventions but were under-researched. Maladaptive cognitions were potential mediators between sex and adolescent IGD, as they were positively associated with both sex and adolescent IGD. A total of 3,075 students participated in a cross-sectional survey that was conducted in Guangzhou and Chengdu, China. IGD was measured by using the DSM-5 checklist and maladaptive cognitions were measured by the validated Chinese version of Revised Internet Gaming Cognition Scale (C-RIGCS). Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation hypotheses. Adolescent males showed a significantly higher prevalence of IGD than females (19.2% versus 7.8%, p 
ISSN:0306-4603
1873-6327
DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106637