Factors Related to the Occurrence of and Recovery From Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Gaming disorder (GD) has gained tremendous attention in the past 2 decades. Although the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases accepted GD as a formal diagnosis in 2018, debate continues about whether this condition constitutes an independent psychiatric disorder. Many scholars observed that we lack reliable information regarding the natural history of GD. Quantitative studies have identified many risk factors related to GD, but those risk factors were rarely connected, provided with context, or mapped into a coherent big picture to explain GD’s pathway and development process. This qualitative study aims to fill the gap by clarifying GD’s course of development in 15 patients. To do so, it adopts a qualitative, longitudinal, and retrospective approach that is based on the life histories and narratives of individuals with GD. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 young adult participants who were attending a residential, outpatient program specializing in GD treatment. Each interview lasted approximately 2.5 hr and was audio-recorded with the participant’s permission and informed consent. Four categories of research questions that targeted participants’ life stories—specifically how gaming addiction entered and manifested in their lives—guided the interviews and generated follow-up questions during each interview, using a theoretical sampling strategy. Recordings were transcribed, then subthemes and themes were identified, constructed, and organized based on a grounded theory, thematic analysis method. Results revealed 12 subthemes, which can be sequentially and suitably placed into three developmental stages. These stages provide a clearer understanding of how gaming behaviors progress from normal into pathological. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.