Halley M. PontesBirkbeck, University of London · School of Psychological Sciences
Halley M. Pontes
PhD, CPsychol, MAPS, FHEA CSci
About
197
Publications
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Introduction
I am a Chartered Psychologist currently working as a researcher and Senior Lecturer. My main research interests relate to the mental health and psychological wellbeing issues stemming from addictive behaviours such as gaming disorder, social media addiction, and internet addiction.
Additional affiliations
March 2021 - present
May 2019 - March 2021
March 2015 - present
Education
October 2013 - September 2017
September 2011 - July 2013
September 2008 - July 2011
Publications
Publications (197)
Background
Over the last decade, there has been growing concern about ‘gaming addiction’ and its widely documented detrimental impacts on a minority of individuals that play excessively. The latest (fifth) edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included nine criteria for the p...
This commentary paper critically discusses the recent debate paper by Petry et al. (2014) that argued there was now an international consensus for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Our collective opinions vary considerably regarding many different aspects of online gaming. However, we contend that the paper by Petry and colleagues does not...
Background and aims
Previous studies focused on examining the interrelationships between social networking site (SNS) addiction and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in isolation. Moreover, little is known about the potential simultaneous differential effects of SNS addiction and IGD on psychological health. This study investigated the interplay betwe...
Objective
Although Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is an emerging area of study in psychology, little is known about the unique features of specific subgroups of internet users and their psychosocial vulnerabilities within robust and nationwide populations.
Methods
The aim of this study was to identify distinct latent groups of internet users based...
In today’s productivity-driven workplaces, work addiction has garnered attention. Despite consensus on the conceptual validity of certain behavioural addictions, work addiction remains unrecognised in diagnostic manuals. This study examined the relationship between work addiction and burnout via psychological capital (PsyCap) and job satisfaction....
The definition of maladaptive consumption has undergone a substantial revision in the past two decades, accommodating the changes that have affected, during the same period, global consumerism, primarily the advent of online media and electronic devices to access the internet. New technologies can affect important spheres of an individual’s life. T...
Background
While there are calls to restrict the time spent on gaming because it is seen as problematic and potentially leading to gaming disorder (GD), there is conflicting evidence about this issue. We explored the association between the average weekly time spent gaming and reported GD symptoms. Additionally, Latent Profile Analysis was employed...
The present study aimed to use a novel method (i.e., network analysis) to examine if the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) has its unidimensional structure supported across different subgroups, including gender groups, continent groups, and age groups. Participants from five continents (n = 545 in Africa; n = 27,910 in Americas;...
The relationship between Gaming Disorder (GD) and the experience of functional impairments has received considerable theoretical attention in the recent past and current diagnostic approaches underscore the centrality of functional impairments as a requirement for GD diagnosis. However, there is limited empirical evidence illuminating the interplay...
Aims
The present study investigated the potential links between Internet Use Disorder tendencies, well-being and the impact of COVID-19 on Internet usage patterns.
Method
A sample of 2498 participants filled out the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; the cognitive facet of well-being) and the Sofalizing S...
Purpose-Despite the interest in leaders' identity work as a framework for leadership development, coaching psychology has yet to expose its active ingredients and outcomes. Design/methodology/approach-To do so, the authors reconcile published systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in the field to arrive at a more thorough understanding of the role of...
Much research has been conducted on the association between social networks use disorder tendencies (SNUD; i.e. problematic social media use) and well-being. In more detail, a meta-analysis and further research suggest an inverse association between higher SNUD tendencies and lower well-being. In existing studies on social media use and well-being,...
Background
Gaming Disorder (GD) was recently included by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a psychiatric condition in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and is a concern worldwide, including in Iran. Thus, based on the ICD-11 criteria, a Persian version of the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) was developed...
Problematic overstudying has been conceptualized as a potential addictive disorder and an early form of work addiction. Previous studies have shown that it is a different phenomenon from healthy learning engagement and is associated with considerable functional impairments. A valid, reliable, and convenient screening measure is warranted to provide...
Currently, six instruments have been developed using the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) criteria for Gaming Disorder (GD). Two of these are the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) and Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A). The present study validated both the GDT and GADIS-A among a large sample of Chinese e...
Purpose:
To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) and Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A) for use in Taiwan and to validate their internal consistency, construct validity, measurement invariance, and convergent validity in Taiwanese young adults.
Methods:
The GDT and GADIS-A were translated into traditio...
Objetivos: Estimar a prevalência de transtorno do jogo pela Internet (IGD) e fatores de risco associados em uma amostra de estudantes do ensino médio e superior de uma instituição pública federal de ensino superior (Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia) no sul do Brasil. Métodos: O estudo incluiu um questionário sociodemográfico, o I...
Background
Due to the ease of access to the internet in modern society users have become more prone to experiencing addictive behaviors online. The present study aimed to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the Bangla Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), and Bergen Social Media Addicti...
Background
Conceptualising internet addiction and assessing its symptoms has presented a significant challenge for researchers over the past 25 years. Recently, the Internet Disorder Scale (IDS-15), which is based on the criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) from DSM-5, has emerged as a promising instrument to assess internet addiction. The m...
In 2019, Gaming Disorder (GD) was officially recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an official mental health disorder. Currently, the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) is one of the most widely utilised psychometric tools to assess GD symptoms according to the WHO framework. In this context, the present study aimed to develop the Polish ver...
This book provides a holistic evidence-based perspective on conceptual, clinical, assessment, and treatment aspects of key non-substance-based addictive disorders related to: gambling, gaming, social media, smartphone, internet, love, sex, exercise, work, and shopping. Each chapter focuses on a different addictive disorder and is structured in a us...
This chapter reviews the current literature on internet addiction (IA) and provides a comprehensive summary regarding: (i) potential positive and negative effects of internet and technology use, (ii) main conceptual frameworks, (iii) biological bases, (iv) comorbidity factors, (v) prevalence rates, (vi) assessment methodologies, and (vii) treatment...
Gambling Disorder (GD) is a prominent psychiatric disorder affecting individuals worldwide. Research suggests that key risk factors for GD include stressful life events (SLEs) and specific psychological factors, such as gambling-related cognitive distortions. The present study investigated the potential mediating role of specific psychological fact...
La Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF; Pontes & Griffiths, 2015)) y la Gaming Disorder Test (GDT; Pontes et al., 2021) son dos test estandarizados que evalúan el trastorno por uso de videojuegos bajo el marco teórico de la APA y de la OMS, respectivamente. Las correspondientes versiones en español han demostrado adecuadas propiedad...
The Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) is a validated instrument assessing internet disorder which modified the internet gaming disorder criteria proposed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the relationships between the nine items in the IDS9-SF are rarely investigated. The...
The present study investigates the relationship between Gaming Disorder (GD) and how gaming motives might differ between three groups of gamers. The first group stated to be professional gamers (n = 129; 2,49%), the second group consisted of non-professional gamers, who intended to become professional gamers (n = 646; 12,45%), and the third group w...
Introduction
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) proposed ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD) as a tentative disorder (APA framework) in 2013 and in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) has fully recognized ‘Gaming Disorder’ (GD) as a mental health disorder (WHO framework). These two frameworks have not yet been jointly investigated in the...
The dearth of evidence related to cultural and gender variations of established associations between Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and other psychopathologies has been highlighted. Accordingly, the present study examined the association between depression and disordered gaming behaviors, while considering cultural perspectives of vertical individu...
The aim of this study was to investigate if and how disordered gaming, loneliness, and family relations have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2019 to 2021), and if there were any changes in the association between these variables across three samples of gamers (for each respective year). Samples from 2019, 2020, and 2021 were matched...
Recently there has been increased interest in understanding the relationship between microtransactions, gaming, and gambling. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on the relationship between microtransactions, ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD), and Gambling Disorder in order to report on the: psychometric assessments used, sampling and demog...
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a rapidly expanding psychopathological manifestation necessitating further research and clinical attention. Although recent research has investigated relationships between user-avatar and excessive gaming, little is known about the interplay between IGD and avatar self-presence and its dimensions (i.e., the physica...
Background
‘Gaming Disorder’ (GD) is now an officially recognized mental health disorder according to the World Health Organization (WHO) framework while ‘Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) remains as a tentative disorder as per the American Psychiatric Association (APA) framework. Although both GD and IGD reflect disordered gaming tendencies marked by...
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is considered the ‘gold standard’ in the treatment of addictive disorders related to excessive technology use. However, the cognitive components of problematic internet use are not yet well-known. The aim of the present study was to explore the cognitive components, that according to problematic users, can lead t...
Disordered gaming has gained increased medical attention and was recently included in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO) after its earlier inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth revision) (DSM-5) as an emerging disorder by the American Psychiat...
Gaming Disorder (GD) has been recently added to the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO), as such, psychometrically sound psychological measures are required to assess this disorder. The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Spanish...
The recent recognition of Gaming Disorder (GD) as a mental health issue has provided a unique opportunity for researchers to advance our current understanding of the intricate relationships between GD and specific health-related factors and well-being. This study sought to investigate the role of key physical and psychological health and well-being...
The eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), Gaming Disorder (GD) distinguished between disordered gaming occurring predominantly online, offline, and/or unspecified. Currently, no previous study has investigated whether such a distinction is meaningful in diagnosing disordered gaming. Therefore, a large group of...
Background
The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is among the best with regard to its psychometric properties. Therefore, clinical psychologists are likely guided to use the IGDS9-SF if they want to assess or screen the disordered gaming in their practice. However, the information, especially psychometric evidence, concerning the...
The aim of the current study was to investigate how problematic online gaming, problematic online gambling, problematic online shopping, problematic online pornography use, and problematic online social networking are associated with each other in bivariate and multivariate, network analytic analyses in an international gamer population. The effect...
In recent years, the video game industry has introduced the possibility of buying virtual random goods (e.g., loot boxes) in electronic games using money through microtransactions, which are becoming more widespread and potentially akin to gambling. Although previous research has linked loot boxes with problematic gaming and gambling behaviors, the...
Background
Electronic gaming is a popular free-time activity and its deleterious effects have been considered by the American Psychiatric Association and World Health Organization. More recently ‘Gaming Disorder’ (GD) has been added to the 11 th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, while ‘Internet Gaming Disorder’ (IGD) remains...
The diagnosis of Gaming Disorder (GD) has been recently proposed in the beta draft of the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO). This follows the inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), as a condition requiring additional research in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for M...
The SABAS was developed by Csibi et al. (2018) and it consists of six items that measure problematic smartphone use. The scale is used to determine the extent of problematic smartphone use. Sample items include: “During the past week, my smartphone is the most important thing in my life.” All items are rated on a six-point Likert scale ranging from...
The BSMAS was developed by Andreassen et al. (2016), and was used to assess social media addiction by symptoms and related negative outcomes due to problematic use over the past year (e.g., “How often during the last week have spent a lot of time thinking about social media or planned use of social media?”). All items of the BSMAS can be responded...
Background: Smartphone and social media use are an integral part of our daily life. Currently, the impact of excessive smartphone and social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic is poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate problematic smartphone use (PSPU) and problematic social media use (PSMU) among Bangladeshi college and unive...
Previous research on gaming disorder (GD) has highlighted key methodological and conceptual hindrances stemming from the heterogeneity of nomenclature and the use of non-standardized psychometric tools to assess this phenomenon. The recent recognition of GD as an official mental health disorder and behavioral addiction by the World Health Organizat...
Background: Distraction is a functional emotion regulation strategy utilized to relieve emotional distress. Within the attention economy perspective, distraction is increasingly associated with digital technology use, performance impairments and interference with higher-order cognitive processes. Research on smartphone distraction and its associati...
Background
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profoundly impacted aspects of human life globally. Playing videogames has been encouraged by several organizations to help individuals cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures. This longitudinal study was the first to examine gaming in the context of the pan...
The aim of this study was to provide insights into the associations between the Big Five personality traits, gaming motives, and time spent gaming. Nine hundred and eighty-six participants completed an online survey including socio-demographic questions, a 100-item personality test assessing the Big Five personality traits, and the Motives for Onli...
This research examines whether perceptions of brand equity influence consumers’ propensity to engage with brand-related content on social media. By combining two frameworks: consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs) we develop two conceptual models and empirically test their validity. Using survey da...
Background: Since electronic gaming is particularly appealing to children and adolescents, they may be at greater risk for developing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). This study aimed to explore the characteristics of adolescents at risk of developing IGD because it is a relatively new disorder included in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental...
BACKGROUND
The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) is among the best with regard to its psychometric properties. Therefore, clinical psychologists are likely guided to use the IGDS9-SF if they want to assess or screen the disordered gaming in their practice. However, the information, especially psychometric evidence, concerning the...
Given recent advances in technology, connectivity, and the popularity of social media platforms, recent literature has devoted great attention to problematic Facebook use. However, exploring the potential predictors of problematic social media use beyond Facebook use has become paramount given the increasing popularity of multiple alternative platf...
In the latest (eleventh) revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Gaming Disorder (GD) as an official diagnostic entity. Furthermore, in the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association (APA)...
Background and aims
Growing concerns about the addictive nature of Internet and computer games led to the preliminary recognition of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as an emerging disorder by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the official recognition of Gaming Disorder (GD) as a new diagnosis by the World Health Organization (WHO). Whil...
The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the number of empirical studies examining various aspects of problematic video game play, video game addiction, and, more recently, gaming disorder. This chapter begins with a brief past history of how research into video game addiction has developed during the past four decades in the 1980s (...
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a tentative disorder in the latest (fifth) revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, psychometric evaluation of the nine IGD criteria remains necessary to further enhance its assessment. Therefore, the ob...
Gamers represent themselves in online gaming worlds through their avatars. The term “Proteus Effect” (PE) defines the potential influences of the gamers’ avatars on their demeanour, perception and conduct and has been linked with excessive gaming. There is a significant lack of knowledge regarding likely distinct PE profiles and whether these could...
Introduction
The Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form (IGDS9-SF) assesses the severity, harmful effects and/or consequences of excessive online and offline gaming. Its conciseness and theoretical foundations on current diagnostic criteria of gaming disorders make it a useful resource for clinical and screening settings.
Objective
To describ...
Objectives:
To estimate the prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and associated risk factors in a sample of secondary and postsecondary students from a public federal institution of higher education (Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia) in Southern Brazil.
Methods:
The study included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Be...
This chapter provides a brief overview of gaming disorder (GD) and its treatment. There are now over twenty different screens for assessing problematic gaming although relatively few have used nationally representative samples. The prevalence rates in these nationally representative studies have ranged from 1.2 percent to 8.5 percent depending upon...
Smartphone use is ubiquitous, however, scholarly debate regarding the addictive nature of smartphones abounds. In this context, it is integral to distinguish between the content that users experience and the medium that facilitates access to the former, as users may experience addictive-like responses to the specific activities they engage in throu...
In May 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially included gaming disorder (GD) in the eleventh revised edition of the International Classification of Diseases. Although the video game industry does not accept the WHO’s decision to class GD as a genuine mental disorder, there is now arguably an onus on the video game industry to develop a...
The American Psychiatric Association defined Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a tentative behavioral addiction in Section III in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a disorder that requires further research. Although cross-sectional studies have suggested that IGD is closely associated with poorer psyc...
Background: Previous research on gaming disorder (GD) used psychometric tools, which evaluates according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) diagnostic framework. The Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), a standardized measure to assess symptoms and prevalence of GD according to the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic framework. The main ai...