ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1629932
Who seeks treatment for gaming? Characteristics of youth and adult patients seeking treatment for gaming disorder
Provisionally accepted
Per Bore1,2*
Mitchell Andersson1
Sara Nilsson2Kajsa Oehm2
Matti Cervin1,2
Anders Hakansson1,2
Emma Claesdotter-Knutsson1,2- 1Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- 2Region Skåne, Malmo, Sweden
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Background: Gaming disorder has recently been recognized as a psychiatric condition, yet the clinical characteristics of treatment-seeking individuals remain understudied. This study examined youth and adults seeking treatment at a specialized outpatient clinic in southern Sweden.Methods: A total of 107 individuals aged 12-49 years (M = 22.1, SD = 7.2) underwent comprehensive clinical interviews, psychosocial assessments, MINI diagnostic interview, and standardized self-report measures.Results: Most participants were male (94%), and 80% met diagnostic criteria for gaming disorder. The average age of symptom onset was 16.0 years (SD = 4.6), with a mean duration of 5.5 years (SD = 4.6). Weekly gaming time averaged 50 hours (SD = 12.0, range 0-126). Although participants reported low levels of gaming disorder symptoms (measured by GDT) and psychological distress (measured by CORE-OM and RCADS), but 69% showed significant functional impairments based on clinician ratings using GAF and CGAS. ADHD symptoms were uniquely positively associated with both gaming disorder severity (β=0.39, p < 0.001) and psychological distress (β=0.34, p < 0.001). Psychological distress also increased with age (β=0.38, p=0.002).Discussion: Although many received a clinical diagnosis, the sample reported low levels of gaming disorder symptoms. They reported relatively low psychological distress but demonstrated substantial functional impairment. This may reflect gaming's role as both an avoidance strategy and a way to meet psychological needs.These findings suggest that impaired everyday functioning is a defining clinical feature of this group. Treatment should not only address gaming behavior but also support patients in improving functioning across important areas of life, such as school, work, and relationships.
Keywords: Gaming disorder, Internet gaming disorder, adolescents, Youth, treatment seeking, Clinical Characteristics
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bore, Andersson, Nilsson, Oehm, Cervin, Hakansson and Claesdotter-Knutsson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Per Bore, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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