Problematic Gaming Beyond Video Games—Exploring the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form With “Analog” Players and the Mediating Role of Gamer Identification

Abstract Video gaming is a widespread practice among young adults, and it is becoming increasingly social. Analog games are affected by this trend as well; social platforms like Reddit host many communities about these playing practices. However, while the impact of online digital gaming on players’ mental health is well explored, this relationship has been overlooked in the context of analog play. This article addresses this gap by validating through a Rasch analysis the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) with N = 481 analog gamers from related communities on Reddit . In addition, simple mediation analyses were performed to examine the role of gamer identification as a mediator on the relationship between gaming community attractiveness and problematic gaming behaviors in analog play. The results show that IGDS9-SF is a robust instrument to shed light on problematic analog gaming, while gamer identification partially mediates the relationship between problematic gaming symptoms and community attractiveness.