The role of internet gaming in the association between anxiety and depression : a preliminary cross-sectional study
- Authors: Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Vassallo, Jeremy , Burleigh, Tyrone , Gomez, Rapson , Colder Carras, Michelle
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Asia-Pacific Psychiatry Vol. 14, no. 2 (2022), p.
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- Description: Background: Disordered Internet gaming is thought to be perpetuated by one's need to escape their real-life distress or mental health symptoms, which may in turn generate depressive feelings. Nevertheless, moderate engagement with Internet games has also been suggested to provide relief, thus improving one's mood. This study aspires to clarify the contribution of Internet gaming and gender in the association between anxiety and depression. Methods: A large sample of Internet gamers (N = 964) were recruited online. Disordered Internet gaming was assessed with the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale, 9 Items Short Form (IGD9S-SF). Anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, 21 items (DASS-21). Results: Regression, moderation and moderated moderation analyses accounting for the effects of gender on the relationship between disordered gaming, anxiety, and depression found a significant effect for anxiety symptoms on depression symptoms and a significant interaction between anxiety and Internet gaming disorder on depression symptoms. Findings support the theory that although anxious gamers bear a higher depression risk, this is buffered with lower and exacerbated with higher disordered gaming symptoms. Conclusion: Findings suggest a dual role of Internet gaming in the association between anxiety and depression, depending on the intensity of one's disordered gaming symptoms. Depression prevention and intervention protocols should be optimized by considering the effects of Internet gaming among anxious gamers by focusing on the intensity of a gamer's involvement and any gaming disorder symptoms. Further research should include clinical samples to better understand this interaction. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Network analyses of internet gaming disorder symptoms and their links with different types of motivation
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Tullett-Prado, Deon , Schivinski, Bruno , Chen, Wai
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC Psychiatry Vol. 22, no. 1 (2022), p.
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- Description: The study used regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBICglasso) to examine the structure of DSM-5 internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms (network 1); and the associations of the IGD symptoms in the network with different types of motivation as defined in the self-determination theory i.e., intrinsic motivation (engaging in an activity for something unrelated to the activity), identified regulation (engaging in the activity because it aligns with one’s values and/or goals), external regulation (engagement in activity being driven by external rewards and/or approval), and amotivation (engaging in an activity without often understanding why) (network 2). Participants were 968 adults from the general community. They completed self-rating questionnaires covering IGD symptoms and different types of motivation. The findings for network 1 showed mostly positive connections between the symptoms within the IGD network. The most central symptom was loss of control, followed by continuation, withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance. In general, these symptoms were more strongly connected with each other than with the rest of the IGD symptoms. The findings for network 2 showed that the different types of motivation were connected differently with the different IGD symptoms. For instance, the likeliest motivation for the preoccupation and escape symptoms is intrinsic motivation, and for negative consequences, it is low identified regulation. Overall, the findings showed a novel understanding of the structure of the IGD symptoms, and the motivations underlying them. The clinical implications of the findings for assessment and treatment of IGD are discussed. © 2022, The Author(s).
Unique associations of revised-reinforcement sensitivity theory constructs with social anxiety
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Watson, Shaun , Brown, Taylor , Corr, Philip
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 20, no. 5 (2022), p. 2838-2850
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- Description: Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) is a major neuropsychological theory of motivation, emotion, and personality. We report the results of a study that examined the unique relationships of the r-RST constructs with two forms of anxiety: social interaction and social performance. Five hundred and seventy-two adults completed the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ) alongside measures of social interaction anxiety and social performance anxiety. Regression results revealed that, as predicted, both social interaction anxiety and social performance anxiety were linked uniquely and positively with the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) scale score. In addition, social performance anxiety was associated uniquely and positively with the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) scale score. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings for social anxiety are discussed. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Adolescent popularity : distinct profiles and associations with excessive internet usage and interpersonal sensitivity
- Authors: Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Barber, Emily , de Sena Collier, Gabriel , Snodgrass, Jeffrey , Gomez, Rapson
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Child Psychiatry and Human Development Vol. 53, no. 6 (2022), p. 1097-1109
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- Description: Peer popularity constitutes a pivotal developmental task to adolescents’ current and future adaptation. This study identified distinct adolescent popularity profiles and explored their links with excessive Internet usage and interpersonal sensitivity. The sample included 2090 students attending Greek high schools (Mage = 16.16, SD = 0.91). Their popularity was measured via self-report and peer sociometric means. They also responded to the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Interpersonal Sensitivity subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). A sequence of latent profile analysis, ANOVAs and linear regression models were performed. Three distinct popularity profiles were revealed: the “Average Confident” (68.4%), the “Socially Vulnerable” (26.8%), and the “Insecure Bi-Strategic” (4.8%). These profiles did not significantly vary regarding their Internet usage and interpersonal sensitivity behaviours. Interestingly, lower self-perceived popularity predicted higher interpersonal sensitivity, whereas higher actual popularity predicted excessive Internet use. Findings have important implications for student-tailored mental health prevention and intervention practices. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Factor structure of ten psychoactive substance addictions and behavioural addictions : common psychoactive substance and behavioural addictions
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Brown, Taylor , Griffiths, Mark
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Psychiatry Research Vol. 313, no. (2022), p.
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- Description: Over the past two decades, many problematic/excessive behaviours have increasingly been conceptualized as addictions due to their similarity with more traditional psychoactive substance addictions. The primary aim of the present study was to simultaneously examine the factor structure of three psychoactive substance addictions (alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and substance use) and seven behavioural addictions (sex, social media use, shopping, exercise, online gambling, internet gaming, and internet use), using exploratory factor analysis (EFA; N = 481) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; N = 487). A total of 968 participants completed an online survey including ten psychometric scales assessing the ten different potentially addictive behaviours. EFA supported a two-factor solution, with different factors for the psychoactive substance and behavioural addictions (excluding exercise addiction). CFA supported the two-factor model in a separate sample. There was good support for the concurrent and discriminant validities of the CFA latent factors and the reliability of the behavioural latent factor in the two-factor CFA model. While there was support for the concurrent and discriminant validities of the psychoactive substance latent factor, there was insufficient support for its reliability. The taxonomic, theoretical, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2022
Reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality questionnaire : measurement and structural invariance across age and gender groups
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Watson, Shaun , Footitt, Trent , Corr, Philip
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 21, no. 1 (2023), p. 131-144
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- Description: Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (r-RST) of personality is a major neuropsychological theory of motivation, emotion, and personality. To measure the specific components of r-RST, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ; Corr & Cooper(Psychological Assessment 28(11), 1427–1400, 2016) has been developed. The current study examined the measurement (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) and structural (factor variances, covariances) invariance across gender and age groups for an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) version of the theorized six-factor oblique model. A total of 901 adults (M = 32.07, SD = 16.38) from the general community completed ratings of the RST-PQ. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported full measurement and structural invariance. There was also no difference for the six latent mean scores across gender and age. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Association of fear of negative evaluation with performance anxiety : mediation by negative self-statements and moderation by positive self-statements during performance in adults
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Watson, Shaun , Brown, Taylor
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Vol. 45, no. 3 (2023), p. 650-658
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- Description: Using individual differences constructs, the current study used cross-sectional data to examine the mediating role of negative self-statements during public speaking on the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and public speaking anxiety (a type of performance anxiety), and how this relationship was moderated by positive self-statements during public performance. The sample comprised 319 adults (men = 105, women = 214) from the general Australian community, with ages ranging from 18 years to 65 years. All participants completed questionnaires covering the different study variables. The findings showed that there was partial mediation by negative self-statements on the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and performance anxiety. There were also moderation effects by positive self-statements for this relationship. Additionally, moderation by positive self-statements was evident at all levels of positive self-statements. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings for public speaking anxiety are discussed. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Factor structure of the symptoms of alcohol use, gaming, and gambling addictions
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Brown, Taylor , Watson, Shaun
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 21, no. 5 (2023), p. 3345-3361
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- Description: Alcohol use, gaming, and gambling addictions are recognized in some form by the major clinical classification symptoms. The current study applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models to compare four different models comprising the symptoms of these addictions. The four models were one-factor (all different types of addiction symptoms loading on a single factor), two-factor (alcohol use and internet/gambling latent factors), three-factor (alcohol use, internet gaming, and gambling symptoms loading only on their respective target latent factors), and bi-factor (alcohol use, internet gaming, and gambling symptoms loading on their respective target latent factor and also on the general addiction factor) models. A general community sample of 968 adults (males = 622, females = 315) completed rating scales with symptoms for the three addictions and also for drug use addiction and distress. Both the three-factor and bi-factor models showed a good fit. However, between these models, only the factors of the three-factor model showed good clarity, reliabilities, and external validities, thereby suggesting that this be the best model to represent ratings of alcohol use, internet gaming, and gambling together. The theoretical, taxonomic, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
A reevaluation of the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the spiritual well-being questionnaire (SWBQ)
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Watson, Shaun
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Religion and Health Vol. 62, no. 3 (2023), p. 2112-2130
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- Description: The 20-item Gomez and Fisher (Personal Individ Differ 35:1975–1991, 2003) Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (SWBQ) is a widely used measure of spiritual well-being. Its theoretical model is a higher-order model with primary factors for personal, communal, environmental, and transcendental well-being, and a secondary global spiritual well-being factor. The current study, conducted in Australia, reevaluated the factor structure of the SWBQ. Unlike previous studies, the current study also used exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to examine the factor structure of the SWBQ and selected the preferred model using not only global model fit values, but also the clarity, reliabilities, and validities of the factors in the models. A total of 227 adults (males = 63; females = 164; M age = 26.1 years; SD = 5.2 years) completed the SWBQ. Based on the model selection criteria applied in the study, the ESEM model with four group factors was selected as the preferred model. However, there was also adequate support for the proposed theoretical higher-order model and the first-order oblique model with the four well-being factors. Concerning our preferred model, its factors showed reasonable clarity for factor loadings and (omega) reliabilities. However, only the communal domain scale was supported empirically for external validity. The implications of the findings for the theoretical model, the use of the SWBQ, and future studies are discussed. In this respect, there are three potential models (theorized higher-order model, 4-factor first-order oblique model, and the ESEM model proposed in this study) that warrant further detailed investigation with a larger, more representative population and additional validation measures. © 2022, The Author(s).
Social media use and abuse : different profiles of users and their associations with addictive behaviours
- Authors: Tullett-Prado, Deon , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Gomez, Rapson , Doley, Jo
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Addictive Behaviors Reports Vol. 17, no. (2023), p.
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- Description: Introduction: Social media use has become increasingly prevalent worldwide. Simultaneously, concerns surrounding social media abuse/problematic use, which resembles behavioural and substance addictions, have proliferated. This has prompted the introduction of ‘Social Media Addiction’ [SMA], as a condition requiring clarifications regarding its definition, assessment and associations with other addictions. Thus, this study aimed to: (a) advance knowledge on the typology/structure of SMA symptoms experienced and: (b) explore the association of these typologies with addictive behaviours related to gaming, gambling, alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, sex (including porn), shopping, internet use, and exercise. Methods: A sample of 968 [Mage = 29.5, SDage = 9.36, nmales = 622 (64.3 %), nfemales = 315, (32.5 %)] adults was surveyed regarding their SMA experiences, using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Their experiences of Gaming, Internet, Gambling, Alcohol, Cigarette, Drug, Sex, Shopping and Exercise addictions were additionally assessed, and latent profile analysis (LPA) was implemented. Results: Three distinct profiles were revealed, based on the severity of one's SMA symptoms: ‘low’, ‘moderate’ and ‘high’ risk. Subsequent ANOVA analyses suggested that participants classified as ‘high’ risk indicated significantly higher behaviours related to internet, gambling, gaming, sex and in particular shopping addictions. Conclusions: Results support SMA as a unitary construct, while they potentially challenge the distinction between technological and behavioural addictions. Findings also imply that the assessment of those presenting with SMA behaviours, as well as prevention and intervention targeting SMA at risk groups, should consider other comorbid addictions. © 2023 The Author(s)
Personality inventory for DSM–5-brief form (PID-5-BF) : measurement invariance across men and women
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Watson, Shaun , Brown, Taylor , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment Vol. 14, no. 3 (2022), p. 334-338
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- Description: The study examined the measurement invariance (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) of the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM–5) Brief Form (PID-5-BF; Krueger et al., 2013) across gender for the theorized Five-Factor oblique model. A large group of adults (N = 502), with ages ranging from 18 to 67 years, from the Australian general community completed the PID-5-BF. When the
Network analyses of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) symptoms in children
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Gomez, Andre , Brown, Taylor , Watson, Shaun
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMC Psychiatry Vol. 22, no. 1 (2022), p. 263-263
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- Description: Based on parent and teacher ratings of their children, this study used regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBIC glasso) to examine the structure of DSM-5 Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) symptoms. Parent and teachers (N = 934) from the general community in Malaysia completed questionnaires covering DSM-5 ODD symptoms. The most central ODD symptom for parent ratings was anger, followed by argue. For teacher ratings, it was anger, followed by defy. For both parent and teacher ratings, the networks revealed at least medium effect size connections for temper and argue, defy, and argue, blames others, and annoy, and spiteful and angry. Overall, the findings were highly comparable across parent and teacher ratings, and they showed a novel understanding of the structure of the ODD symptoms. The clinical implications of the findings for assessment and treatment of ODD are discussed.
Using Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q) with adults : factor structure, reliability, external validity, and measurement invariance across age and gender
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Brown, Taylor , Gill, Peter , Prokofieva, Maria , Stavropoulos, Vasileios
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Vol. 21, no. 6 (2023), p. 3910-3926
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- Description: Rates of online (or internet) gambling are growing faster than any other gambling form, which has research and clinical implications. Currently, the lack of a questionnaire for measuring online gambling in adults is hampering our ability to understand this phenomenon. The current study examined whether the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q), developed for studying online gambling in adolescents, is suitable for use with adults. Specifically, we evaluated support for its original one-factor model, its model-based reliability, external validity, and measurement invariance (configural, metric, scalar, and residual) for the theorized one-factor model. A community sample of 968adults (18 to 64 years) completed the original OGD-Q. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the theorized one-factor model. Additionally, there was support for the reliability (omega coefficient) and external validity (expected relations with internet gaming disorder, internet disorder, depression, anxiety, and stress) of the OGD-Q. Multiple-group CFA supported full measurement invariance across men and women, and emerging adult and older adult groups. The findings provided some psychometric support for the use of the original OGD-Q in adults. The psychometric and practical implications of the findings are discussed. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.