Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms

Video game addiction in young children is relevant, but it is especially important for children with ADHD. In order to obtain more data about the use of video games by Canadian children, and in particular by ADHD children, we explored the modalities of use (playtime, addiction score and usage by age...

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Main Authors: Laura Masi, Pascale Abadie, Catherine Herba, Mutsuko Emond, Marie-Pier Gingras, Leila Ben Amor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.632272/full
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spelling doaj-c03586db391b4ce38843be25431cd9cf2021-03-12T04:25:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pediatrics2296-23602021-03-01910.3389/fped.2021.632272632272Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD SymptomsLaura Masi0Pascale Abadie1Catherine Herba2Mutsuko Emond3Marie-Pier Gingras4Leila Ben Amor5Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (Hôpital-Rivière-Des-Prairies), Department of Psychiatry and Addictology of Université de Montréal (UdeM), Research Center of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Montreal, QC, CanadaCentre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (Hôpital-Rivière-Des-Prairies), Department of Psychiatry and Addictology of Université de Montréal (UdeM), Montreal, QC, CanadaResearch Center of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital and of Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, QC, CanadaSainte-Justine University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology of Université de Montréal (UdeM), Research Center of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Montreal, QC, CanadaDépartement de psychologie idem pour Catherine Herba, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montreal, QC, CanadaSainte-Justine University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology of Université de Montréal (UdeM), Research Center of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital, Montreal, QC, CanadaVideo game addiction in young children is relevant, but it is especially important for children with ADHD. In order to obtain more data about the use of video games by Canadian children, and in particular by ADHD children, we explored the modalities of use (playtime, addiction score and usage by age) and compared them between ADHD and non-ADHD children. We then examined associations between addiction and ADHD symptoms and explored innovative results about the gender impact. Our study was cross-sectional, multicenter in child psychiatrist departments, exploratory and descriptive. We recruited three groups of children aged 4–12 years: the ADHD Group, the Clinical-Control Group and the Community-Control Group. For each group, the material used consisted of questionnaires completed by one of the parents. Data collection took place from December 2016 to August 2018 in Montreal (n = 280). Our study highlighted a vulnerability in ADHD children: they would exhibit more addictive behaviors with respect to video games (Addiction score: 1.1025 in ADHD Group vs. 0.6802 in Community-Control Group) and prolonged periods of use. We also observed a correlation between the severity of ADHD symptoms and excessive use of video games (p = 0.000). Children with severe ADHD showed significantly higher addiction scores and, in a multiple regression analysis a combination of gender and ADHD explained the excessive use of video games.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.632272/fullvideo gameADHDaddictiondependenceplaytimechildren
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Laura Masi
Pascale Abadie
Catherine Herba
Mutsuko Emond
Marie-Pier Gingras
Leila Ben Amor
spellingShingle Laura Masi
Pascale Abadie
Catherine Herba
Mutsuko Emond
Marie-Pier Gingras
Leila Ben Amor
Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
Frontiers in Pediatrics
video game
ADHD
addiction
dependence
playtime
children
author_facet Laura Masi
Pascale Abadie
Catherine Herba
Mutsuko Emond
Marie-Pier Gingras
Leila Ben Amor
author_sort Laura Masi
title Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
title_short Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
title_full Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
title_fullStr Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
title_full_unstemmed Video Games in ADHD and Non-ADHD Children: Modalities of Use and Association With ADHD Symptoms
title_sort video games in adhd and non-adhd children: modalities of use and association with adhd symptoms
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Pediatrics
issn 2296-2360
publishDate 2021-03-01
description Video game addiction in young children is relevant, but it is especially important for children with ADHD. In order to obtain more data about the use of video games by Canadian children, and in particular by ADHD children, we explored the modalities of use (playtime, addiction score and usage by age) and compared them between ADHD and non-ADHD children. We then examined associations between addiction and ADHD symptoms and explored innovative results about the gender impact. Our study was cross-sectional, multicenter in child psychiatrist departments, exploratory and descriptive. We recruited three groups of children aged 4–12 years: the ADHD Group, the Clinical-Control Group and the Community-Control Group. For each group, the material used consisted of questionnaires completed by one of the parents. Data collection took place from December 2016 to August 2018 in Montreal (n = 280). Our study highlighted a vulnerability in ADHD children: they would exhibit more addictive behaviors with respect to video games (Addiction score: 1.1025 in ADHD Group vs. 0.6802 in Community-Control Group) and prolonged periods of use. We also observed a correlation between the severity of ADHD symptoms and excessive use of video games (p = 0.000). Children with severe ADHD showed significantly higher addiction scores and, in a multiple regression analysis a combination of gender and ADHD explained the excessive use of video games.
topic video game
ADHD
addiction
dependence
playtime
children
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.632272/full
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