Prevalence of Gaming Disorder among Middle School Students and Its Correlation with Parental Perception on Problematic Internet Usage in Chennai

Background: Recently the internet and internet-related activities have seen a tremendous increase in its users, coming with its advantages and disadvantages. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is one such disadvantage which was recognized by WHO in 2018 in ICD-11 as a health concern. IGD along with problematic internet usage (PIU) can cause a detrimental effect on an adolescent’s health and also has a public health implication by paving the way for addiction at a later age, if necessary timely interventions are not done at the initial stages. This study aims to detect the prevalence of internet gaming disorder in the 10 to 14 age group and the parents’ perception of their wards’ internet usage. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study among 10- to 14-year-old students conducted among 6th to 8th grade (selected randomly from 2 different schools in Chennai). For this study, parent version of Young’s diagnostic questionnaire, internet gaming disorder scale short form, along with self-report forms were used. The data was collected over a period of two months and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: This study with the participation of 285 adolescents and 285 parents found a prevalence of IGD to be at 2.1% (95% CI: 0.4 - 3.7) and with a prevalence of problematic internet usage at 16.8% (95% CI: 12.5 - 21). A correlation was present between IGD and PIU (p-value