Daniel L. King

Flinders University · College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Internet Gaming Disorder: Theory, Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention is an informative and practical introduction to the topics of Internet gaming disorder and problematic gaming. This book provides mental health clinicians with hands-on assessment, prevention, and treatment techniques for clients with problematic gaming behaviors and Internet g...

Video games as a consumer product have changed significantly with the advent of in-game purchasing systems (e.g., microtransactions, ‘loot boxes’). This review examines consumer protections related to in-game purchasing by anticipating some of the potential design strategies that might contribute to higher risk consumer behavior. Attention was dire...

https://www.nature.com/magazine-assets/d41586-019-02776-1/d41586-019-02776-1.pdf

The inclusion of gaming disorder (GD) as an official diagnosis in the ICD-11 was a significant milestone for the field. However, the optimal measurement approaches for GD are currently unclear. This comprehensive systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate all available English-language GD tools and their corresponding evidence. A search of Ps...

Background and aims: The inclusion of gaming disorder (GD) in the ICD-11 has generated scholarly debate, including claims about its potential stigmatizing effects on the wider gaming population. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of addiction-based and non-addiction-based conceptualizations of problem gaming on stigma of gamers DESIGN:...

Introduction: Despite the growing recognition of gaming disorder as a mental disorder, there is still debate about how it should be best screened for. This is especially relevant in countries where prevalence studies that could support evidence-based policymaking are still to be conducted. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of...

Social chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) may be particularly appealing to individuals with social deficits or conditions that affect their social functioning. In this letter, we discuss some of the noteworthy characteristics of social chatbots and how they may influence adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, including the potential for...

Recent research has focused on investigating the impact of sports betting inducements on individuals' gambling behaviour. Younger people are an important demographic, as they exhibit higher rates of sports betting engagement and are at a formative stage of life where they may be more vulnerable to potential harm. This study investigates how young p...

Background and aims Problematic Internet use (PIU) has become a global public health problem. It has been suggested that parenting style is associated with adolescent PIU. However, the evidence in favor of this view is mixed. Based on the PRISMA method, the present study employed three-level meta-analysis approach to investigate the relationship be...

This paper reports a qualitative survey of experts in problem gaming and/or problem gambling from 19 countries worldwide on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on problematic gaming and gambling. Twenty-seven problem gaming experts reported (i) no licensing changes, (ii) few existing or newly introduced policies or regulations, (iii) overall increa...

Background: Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are one of the most harmful forms of gambling at an individual level. It is unclear whether restriction of EGM functions and accessibility results in meaningful reductions in population-level gambling harm. Methods: A natural policy experiment using a large (N = 15,000) national dataset weighted to s...

This study aimed to ascertain frequency rates and predictors of six problematic online behaviors (POBs) in an Australian sample. Participants (N = 1626) completed instruments measuring problematic online gaming, cyberchondria, problematic cybersex, problematic online shopping, problematic use of social networking sites, problematic online gambling,...

Play-to-earn (P2E) is a new form of monetised gaming based on blockchain and crypto-currency technology. Such games offer opportunities to combine gaming with speculative investment through the purchase of tradable in-game currencies and assets (non-fungible tokens). In this paper, we investigate the profile of people most likely to be attracted to...

This systematic review summarizes empirical evidence on risky decision-making (objective risk and ambiguity) in specific domains of problematic use of the internet (PUI) focusing on online addictive behaviors. We conducted a pre-registered (PROSPERO: CRD42020188452) PubMed search for PUI domains: gaming, social-network use, online buying-shopping,...

Background and aims: Many new digital gambling-like activities such as loot boxes, esports betting, skin betting, and token wagering have recently emerged and grown in popularity. This scoping review aimed to: (a) synthesize the existing empirical research literature on gambling-like activities and their associations with gambling and video gaming...

Background: Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are recognised as one of the most harmful forms of gambling at an individual level. It is unclear whether restriction of EGM functions and accessibility results in meaningful reductions in population-level gambling harm. Methods: A natural policy experiment using a large (N = 15,000) nationally-represen...

Electronic sports, or esports, refer to organized video-gaming activities involving individuals or teams of individuals competing for prize money and prestige. Over the last decade, there has been a major expansion in the number of national and international tournaments and an exponential increase in the worldwide popularity of esports. Like other...

Background and aims: The concept of impaired control is central to addictive disorders, including gaming disorder in the DSM-5 and ICD-11. Impaired control refers to the recurrent inability to resist impulses to engage in certain activities or behaviours and the failure to limit or stop this engagement. Although numerous screening tools for gaming...

Background and aims Limited research has investigated how individuals' problem gaming affects significant others. The present study investigated the extent to which partners and parents were personally affected by their partner or child's problematic gaming behavior and what steps, if any, were taken in relation to treatment and other help-seeking...

COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have had major negative effects on individuals’ mental health and psychological well-being. Isolated at home, people may engage in recreational activities such as binge-watching (i.e., viewing multiple episodes of a TV series in 1 session) as a strategy to regulate emotional states. This is the first longitudinal study a...

Gaming disorder was officially recognized as a disorder of addictive behaviour in the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision in 2019. Since then, other types of potentially problematic online behaviour have been discussed as possible candidates for inclusion in the psychiatric nosography of addictive disorders. Understanding these p...

Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is a comprehensive approach to identifying people at risk of addiction, but its feasibility for gaming disorder is unknown. This study surveyed 88 clinicians from gambling, alcohol and other drugs, and youth services in New Zealand. Results indicated that the most frequent GD screenin...

The structural addictive characteristics of gambling products are important targets for prevention, but can be unintuitive to laypeople. In the PictoGRRed (Pictograms for Gambling Risk Reduction) study, we aimed to develop pictograms that illustrate the main addictive characteristics of gambling products and to assess their impact on identifying th...

Gambling behaviour is likely to be strongly influenced by operant learning principles. Most forms of gambling, and most notably slot machine play, follow a random ratio (RR) schedule of reinforcement that should lead to rapid and extinction-resistant behaviour. In this paper we highlight the caveats that need to be applied when generalising animal...

Research reports positive associations between gaming disorder (GD) in adolescents and loot box purchasing but has not examined this relationship for other types of simulated gambling. This study examined whether greater engagement and expenditure in three types of simulated gambling were associated with meeting the criteria for GD in adolescents....

The boundary between highly engaged and problematic video gaming is often debated in the behavioral addictions field. The present study assessed whether quality of life, motivational and protective factors may differentiate high-frequency gamers (i.e., those who play 30+ hours per week) who did, and did not, meet the DSM-5 criteria for gaming disor...

Research reports positive associations between gaming disorder (GD) in adolescents and loot box purchasing but has not examined this relationship for other types of simulated gambling. This study examined whether greater engagement and expenditure in three types of simulated gambling were associated with meeting the criteria for GD in adolescents....

Background Very few people seek in-person treatment for online behavioral addictions including gaming and gambling or problems associated with shopping, pornography use, or social media use. Web-based treatments have the potential to address low rates of help seeking due to their convenience, accessibility, and capacity to address barriers to healt...

Background and aims Play-to-earn (P2E) gaming is a newly emerging form of gaming increasingly based on blockchain technology. In this paper, we examine the mechanics and business model of these games and their potential benefits and risks for players. Methods The paper draws upon and critically synthesises the developing published literature on pr...

Simulated gambling, such as playing a virtual slot machine for points rather than money, is increasingly part of the online gaming experience for youth. This study aimed to examine (1) if youth participation in simulated gambling games is associated with participation in monetary gambling; (2) if youth participation in simulated gambling games is a...

Background and aims The popularity of video gaming has generated significant interest in research methods to examine motivations for gaming. Current measures of gaming motives are limited by lack of scope and/or their applicability to specific game genres only. We aimed to create a comprehensive motivation inventory applicable to any gaming genre a...

A common assumption in many public frameworks is that the harms and behavioural risk factors associated with gambling disorder lie on a continuum. At one end is lower risk or recreational gambling, and at the other, problem or disordered gambling. Movements along this continuum are associated with gradual increases or decreases in the level of beha...

Global concern about problematic usage of the internet (PUI), and its public health and societal costs, continues to grow, sharpened in focus under the privations of the COVID-19 pandemic. This narrative review reports the expert opinions of members of the largest international network of researchers on PUI in the framework of the European Cooperat...

Background and aims: Gambling-related harm to concerned significant others (CSOs) is an important public health issue since it reduces CSOs' health and wellbeing in numerous life domains. This study aimed to 1) estimate the first national prevalence of CSOs harmed by gambling in Australia; 2) identify the characteristics of CSOs most at risk of ha...

This study aimed to examine gambling motivations for esports betting and skin gambling and their association with gambling frequency, problems, and harm. Data were collected via a cross-sectional online survey with 736 participants aged 18 + who engaged in esports cash betting (n = 567), esports skin betting (n = 180), or skin gambling on games of...

The validity of the constructs of problematic Internet or smartphone use and Internet or smartphone addiction has been extensively debated. The spectrum hypothesis posits that problematic online behaviors (POBs) may be conceptualized within a spectrum of related yet distinct entities. To date, the hypothesis has received preliminary support, and fu...

Background: Gambling and gaming disorders have been included as "disorders due to addictive behaviors" in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Other problematic behaviors may be considered as "other specified disorders due to addictive behaviors (6C5Y)." Methods: Narrative review, experts' opinions. Results: We suggest the fo...

In this brief letter, we report a new World Health Organization (WHO)-led project developing gold standard instruments to detect gaming disorder and gambling disorder following their inclusion in the ‘disorders due to addictive behaviours’ section of the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)

Among the important changes in the ICD-11 is the addition of 21 new mental disorders. New categories are typically proposed to: a) improve the usefulness of morbidity statistics; b) facilitate recognition of a clinically important but poorly classified mental disorder in order to provide appropriate management; and c) stimulate research into more e...

Adolescents can easily access esports betting sites and place bets using cash or skins. This descriptive cross-sectional study examined the characteristics of adolescent esports bettors and relationships between their esports betting, video gaming activities, monetary gambling participation, and at-risk/problem gambling. Two survey samples of Austr...

Gaming activities have conferred numerous benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some individuals may be at greater risk of problem gaming due to disruption to adaptive routines, increased anxiety and/or depression, and social isolation. This paper presents a summary of 2019–2021 service data from specialist addiction centers in Germany, S...

Aims: Mobile gaming is a dominant form of gaming, known for its portability and for game characteristics that motivate continuous play and spending. Such involvement may also turn problematic, but research on problem gaming (PG) has tended to focus on non-mobile forms of gaming. The study was based on a cross-sectional observational design where st...

Background and aims Purchasing loot boxes in digital games is akin to gambling as it involves risking money for a chance-based reward of uncertain value. Research has linked buying loot boxes to problem gambling amongst adolescents, but has not examined co-occurring gambling participation. This study examined links between loot box purchasing and p...

This study compared land-based-only gamblers (LBOGs), online-only gamblers (OOGs), and mixed-mode gamblers (MMGs), based on a 2019 Australian national telephone survey (N = 15,000). It examined 1) prevalence, demographics and gambling behaviours, 2) problematic gambling, 3) most harmful gambling forms, 4) gambling-related harms-to-self, and 5) risk...

Esports betting and skin gambling involve betting on the outcomes of video game competitions and/or using virtual currencies for betting. The present study evaluated a conceptual model linking video game involvement, video-game related gambling, traditional gambling, and gambling problems and harm. Data were collected via a cross-sectional online s...

Background and aims: Previous research has identified numerous risk and protective factors of adolescent problematic gaming (PG) at the individual and social levels; however, the influence of socio-economic indicators on PG is less known. This study aimed to measure the contribution of individual and socio-economic factors involved in PG risk amon...

Although digital media use confers many personal and social benefits, it is recognized that unrestricted and habitual use can have major negative health consequences, particularly for young people. Problematic gaming in its most serious form, for example, is recognized as an addictive disorder by the World Health Organization. In recent years, ther...

Online video gaming is a popular activity among people of all ages. For some, however, gaming can become problematic. While evidence exists for the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for gaming disorder (GD), a major challenge is that adolescents and young adults, particularly males, are often reluctant to seek help and engage long term...

Preprint coming soon.

Participation in electronic gaming machine (EGM) gambling has declined sharply in Australia over the last two decades. At the same time, there has been a gradual slowing and decline in revenue from this form of gambling. In this paper, we use data drawn from a series of population surveys in a single jurisdiction (South Australia) to gain insights...

COVID-19 public health measures, including lockdowns, have disrupted psychological service delivery for substance use and behavioural addictions. This study aimed to examine how addictions treatment had been affected by COVID-19 related factors from the perspective of addiction and mental health service providers. Participants (n=93) were experienc...

The Pathways Model proposes three principal pathways into pathological or problem gambling which is predicated on two principal assumptions. The first is that risk factors can be differentiated into distinct clusters. The second is that certain preexisting individual differences, co-morbidities or circumstances contribute to an increased risk of su...

Background and aims Skin gambling uses in-game items (skins) acquired in video games, to gamble on esports, games of chance, other competitive events and privately with friends. This study examined characteristics of adolescent skin gamblers, their engagement in monetary gambling, and relationships between skin gambling and at risk/problem gambling...

The health and socioeconomic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater reliance on the internet to meet basic needs and responsibilities. Greater engagement in online activities may have negative mental and physical health consequences for some vulnerable individuals, particularly under mandatory self-isolation or 'lockdown'...

Background: There is currently considerable public policy and regulatory interest in the nature and prevalence of underage gambling. Research in this area has purported to show that adolescents are at elevated risk of problem gambling and that early exposure to gambling or gambling-like activities could be a potential precursor to future harm. Me...

The aim of this study was to update and expand upon a previous study in 2014 and evaluate how the interactive gambling environment has changed since that time. The report used a multi-stage approach to examine interactive gambling. A literature review, environmental scan, national telephone survey, national online survey of gamblers, longitudinal...

Escapism motivations and related processes (e.g., avoidance, dissociation, relaxation, and emotion dysregulation) have been identified as risk factors for problematic gaming. However, the escapism construct has often been poorly conceptualized and operationalized in assessment instruments. In their systematic review, Melodia et al. (2020) proposed...

Background and aims: Previous studies have reported that stronger avatar identification and negative self-concept are associated with gaming disorder (GD). This study aimed to examine the value and significance of avatars based on firsthand accounts from regular and problematic gamers, and to identify any potential links between avatar-related exp...

Background and aims Crypto-currency trading is a rapidly growing form of behaviour characterised by investing in highly volatile digital assets based largely on blockchain technology. In this paper, we review the particular structural characteristics of this activity and its potential to give rise to excessive or harmful behaviour including over-sp...

Aims Negative and Positive urgency are emotion-related impulsivity traits that are thought to be transdiagnostic factors in psychopathology. However, it has recently been claimed that these two traits are closely related to each other and that considering them separately might have limited conceptual and methodological value. The present study aime...

Problematic gaming has been linked to poor sleep outcomes; however, these associations have not yet been synthesized quantitatively. This review employed a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between problematic gaming and sleep-related outcomes. A search of Medline, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar identified a total...

The specific nature of harm and functional impairment in the context of gaming disorder (GD) has received limited attention. In this study, we present one of the first concerted attempts to measure the types and degree of harm experienced by people displaying signs of problem gaming. Attempts were made to assess the extent to which types of harm we...

5th International Congress of Technology Addiction will be held by the Turkish Green Crescent Society on June 2 – June 3, 2021 from 09:00 AM to 6:30 PM (GMT +3) as a virtual conference. It will be o ered through Zoom and the Green Crescent Society’s online platform. Click here for more info: https://kongre.yesilay.org.tr/en/

Recent research has shown that harm is not just a feature of problem gambling, but can also be observed in other lower risk categories. Some debates exist, however, as to the distribution of harm across these categories and how harm should be best measured. This study was designed to examine how estimates of self-reported harm are affected by the m...

Purpose of Review With its inclusion in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 11th Revision, gaming disorder (GD) has been officially recognized as a behavioral addiction. Etiological models of GD refer to the interaction of personal, environmental, and game-related risk factors. However, the role of...

Objectives Measures from wearable devices could be a valuable supplement to mindfulness assessment and intervention. This observational study evaluated measures from a consumer-grade EEG headband (Muse, InteraXon, Inc.) as novel correlates of state mindfulness during focused attention meditation. Methods Adult participants (N = 68, Mage = 22.66, S...

Little is known about the relative severity and nature of harms in different behavioural addictions. In this study, a range of harm-related questions were administered to 128 problem gamblers (M = 81, F = 45) classified using the Problem Gambling Severity Index and 72 problem gamers (M = 67, F = 5) classified using Petry et al.’s (2014) Internet Ga...

Some forms of speculative trading share similarities with gambling. Decisions are often based on limited information, short-term motives for gain, and highly volatile and uncertain outcomes. Given these similarities, there is evidence to show that people who are attracted to gambling are also statistically more likely to engage in higher risk specu...

Background Problem gaming is reported by approximately 1–3% of the population and is associated with decreased health and wellbeing. Research on optimal health responses to problem gaming remains limited. This study aimed to identify and describe the key components of a person-centred approach to interventions for problem gaming for individuals who...

Models to explain persistent and excessive gaming behavior have proposed that reward characteristics in video games influence gaming behavior, yet these characteristics have received minimal empirical attention to date. The present study employed an experimental approach to examine how a near miss and other different outcomes (a win or loss with sm...

Objectives EEG neurofeedback has potential to increase the effectiveness of mobile meditation applications by providing synchronous performance feedback to meditators. This crossover trial aimed to evaluate the effects of auditory EEG neurofeedback on state mindfulness during focused attention meditation—a putative mediator of mental health benefit...

Psychosocial problems arising from excessive gaming are a public health issue across the developed world. In its most serious form, problematic gaming is recognized as gaming disorder (GD) in the ICD-11. Research has tended to focus on the value of outpatient treatment for GD, but less attention has been paid to broader prevention strategies to add...

Prevention and harm minimization approaches to problem gaming have become a matter of growing public health interest, following the recognition of gaming disorder and hazardous gaming in the ICD-11. The present study was the first to gather firsthand accounts of the potential options and challenges for prevention approaches among regular and proble...

Some video-gaming activities feature customizable avatars that enable users to fulfil self-identity needs. Research evidence (e.g., fMRI and survey studies) has suggested that poorer self-concept and stronger avatar identification are associated with problematic gaming. Player-avatar relationships have thus been proposed to require attention in gam...