Skip to content
2000
image of The Association between Game Addiction and Feelings of Loneliness and Depression in Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction

Adolescence is a critical period during which loneliness can have profound negative effects, often leading individuals to turn to modern media such as video games and social networks. As these media increasingly replace face-to-face interactions, concerns arise about their potential to exacerbate loneliness and contribute to depression. This study aimed to explore the relationship between loneliness, depression, and game addiction in adolescents.

Methods

This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 327 students aged 15 to 19, selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and the Game Addiction Scale. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS and AMOS software.

Results

The average loneliness score among students was moderate (47.2 ± 9.6). Depression, anxiety, and stress levels were generally low; however, 17.7% of students exhibited game addiction, 29.26% experienced severe or very severe depression, 31.37% had severe or very severe anxiety, and 76.13% reported severe stress. A significant correlation was observed between loneliness, depression, anxiety, stress, and game addiction ( < 0.001). Loneliness, as an exogenous variable, was found to influence depression both directly and indirectly through game addiction.

Discussion

Game addiction is higher in boys and linked to loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Family and educational environments play key preventive roles. Cultural and methodological differences affect study results.

Conclusion

Game addiction is an emerging concern, particularly among adolescents. School officials and educators must address this phenomenon seriously to mitigate its negative psychological impacts and promote healthy development.

© 2025 Bentham Science Publishers
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/aps/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
2025-05-15
2025-09-26

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/aps/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abela J.R. Hankin B.L. Cognitive vulnerability to depression in children and adolescents: A developmental psychopathology perspective The Guilford Press 2008 35 78
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Barch D.M. Tillman R. Kelly D. Whalen D. Gilbert K. Luby J.L. Hippocampal volume and depression among young children. Psychiatry Res. Neuroimaging 2019 288 21 28 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.04.012 31071541
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Bruchas M.R. Schindler A.G. Shankar H. Messinger D.I. Miyatake M. Land B.B. Lemos J.C. Hagan C.E. Neumaier J.F. Quintana A. Palmiter R.D. Chavkin C. Selective p38α MAPK deletion in serotonergic neurons produces stress resilience in models of depression and addiction. Neuron 2011 71 3 498 511 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.06.011 21835346
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Cacioppo J.T. Hawkley L.C. Ernst J.M. Burleson M. Berntson G.G. Nouriani B. Spiegel D. Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective. J. Res. Pers. 2006 40 6 1054 1085 10.1016/j.jrp.2005.11.007
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Carvajal-Carrasca G. Caro-Castillo C.V. Loneliness in adolescence: Analysis of the concept. Aquichan 2009 9 3 281 296
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Copeland W.E. Angold A. Shanahan L. Costello E.J. Longitudinal patterns of anxiety from childhood to adulthood: The great smoky mountains study. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2014 53 1 21 33 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.09.017 24342383
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Danneel S. Nelemans S. Spithoven A. Bastin M. Bijttebier P. Colpin H. Van Den Noortgate W. Van Leeuwen K. Verschueren K. Goossens L. Internalizing problems in adolescence: Linking loneliness, social anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms over time. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2019 47 10 1691 1705 10.1007/s10802‑019‑00539‑0 30937813
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Demir Y. Kutlu M. The relationship between loneliness and depression: Mediation role of internet addiction. Educ. Process Int. J. 2016 5 2 97 105 10.12973/edupij.2016.52.1
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Deng Y. Hu M. Hu G. Wang L. Sun Z. An investigation on the prevalence of internet addiction disorder in middle school students of Hunan province. Z. Red Flower Epidemiol. J. 2007 28 5 445 448
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Doane L.D. Loneliness, stress and depression over the transition to adulthood: Interpersonal and physiological pathways. Northwestern University 2008
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Ebrahimi S. Khammarnia M. Porvazn N. Karamipur M. Jamshidzahi H. Setoodezadeh F. Peyvand M. The prevalence of internet addiction and its relationship with quality of sleep and quality of life among students of zahedan university of medical sciences. J. Sch. Public Health Inst. Public Health Res. 2018 16 2 126 137
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Glover T.A. Albers C.A. Considerations for evaluating universal screening assessments. J. Sch. Psychol. 2007 45 2 117 135 10.1016/j.jsp.2006.05.005
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Gore F.M. Bloem P.J.N. Patton G.C. Ferguson J. Joseph V. Coffey C. Sawyer S.M. Mathers C.D. Global burden of disease in young people aged 10–24 years: A systematic analysis. Lancet 2011 377 9783 2093 2102 10.1016/S0140‑6736(11)60512‑6 21652063
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Griffiths M.D. Davies M.N.O. Chappell D. Online computer gaming: A comparison of adolescent and adult gamers. J. Adolesc. 2004 27 1 87 96 10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.007 15013262
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Hojjati H. Hassanzadeh F. Sabzi Z. Ahsanian E. The correlation between internet addiction and loneliness in adolescents in Golestan Province. J. Healthc. Prot. Manage. 2018 6 6 8 14
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Kennard B.D. Hughes J.L. Foxwell A.A. CBT for depression in children and adolescents: A guide to relapse prevention. Guilford Publications 2016
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Koohi K. Youth and new media: The study of the students addiction to computer games and its related factors. J. Cult. Commun. Stud. 2015 15 28 137 164
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Kostev K. Teichgräber F. Konrad M. Jacob L. Association between chronic somatic conditions and depression in children and adolescents: A retrospective study of 13,326 patients. J. Affect. Disord. 2019 245 697 701 10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.014 30447568
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Lin C.Y. Imani V. Broström A. Årestedt K. Pakpour A.H. Griffiths M.D. Evaluating the psychometric properties of the 7-item Persian game addiction scale for Iranian adolescents. Front. Psychol. 2019 10 149 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00149 30804841
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Lovibond P.F. Lovibond S.H. The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behav. Res. Ther. 1995 33 3 335 343 10.1016/0005‑7967(94)00075‑U 7726811
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Luo S. Liu Y. Zhang D. Psychological maltreatment and loneliness in Chinese children: The role of perceived social support and self-esteem. Child. Youth Serv. Rev. 2020 108 104573 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104573
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Moodi M. Zamanian H. Sharifzadeh G. The prevalence of computer game addiction and related factors in male adolescent of Gonabad in 2018. J. Birjand Univ. Med. Sci. 2020 27 2 191 200
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Morahan-Martin J. Schumacher P. Incidence and correlates of pathological Internet use among college students. Comput. Human Behav. 2000 16 1 13 29 10.1016/S0747‑5632(99)00049‑7
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Neville H.A. Lilly R.L. Duran G. Lee R.M. Browne L. Construction and initial validation of the color-blind racial attitudes scale (CoBRAS). J. Couns. Psychol. 2000 47 1 59 70 10.1037/0022‑0167.47.1.59
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Öztekin C. Öztekin A. The association of depression, loneliness and internet addiction levels in patients with acne vulgaris. Biopsychosoc. Med. 2020 14 1 17 10.1186/s13030‑020‑00190‑y 32774449
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Russell D.W. UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. J. Pers. Assess. 1996 66 1 20 40 10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2 8576833
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Shirazi M.S.R Fanaei H. Mouseli A. Madadi S. Hafezi H. Prevalence of addiction to video games and its effects among paramedical students of hormozgan university of medical sciences. J. Mod. Med. Inf. Sci. 2023 9 1 56 69
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Samani S. Jokar B. Study the validity and reliability of the Iranian version of the depression, anxiety, stress scale. J Soc Humanities Shiraz University 2007 263 65 78
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Spitzer N. Segel-Karpas D. Palgi Y. Close social relationships and loneliness: The role of subjective age. Int. Psychogeriatr. 2022 34 7 651 655 10.1017/S1041610219001790 31708003
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Stockdale L. Coyne S.M. Video game addiction in emerging adulthood: Cross-sectional evidence of pathology in video game addicts as compared to matched healthy controls. J. Affect. Disord. 2018 225 265 272 10.1016/j.jad.2017.08.045 28841491
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Thapar A. Pine D.S. Leckman J.F. Scott S. Snowling M.J. Taylor E.A. Rutter’s child and adolescent psychiatry. John Wiley & Sons 2017
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Uchida M. Fitzgerald M. Woodworth H. Carrellas N. Kelberman C. Biederman J. Subsyndromal manifestations of depression in children predict the development of major depression. J. Pediatr. 2018 201 252 258
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Vervoort E. Doumen S. Verschueren K. Children’s appraisal of their relationship with the teacher: Preliminary evidence for construct validity. Eur. J. Dev. Psychol. 2015 12 2 243 260 10.1080/17405629.2014.989984
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Wang J.L. Sheng J.R. Wang H.Z. The association between mobile game addiction and depression, social anxiety, and loneliness. Front. Public Health 2019 7 247 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00247 31552213
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Wang P. Wang J. Yan Y. Si Y. Zhan X. Tian Y. Relationship between loneliness and depression among Chinese junior high school students: the serial mediating roles of internet gaming disorder, social network use, and generalized pathological internet use. Front. Psychol. 2021 11 529665 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.529665 33643105
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Wang Q. Liu X. Peer victimization and nonsuicidal self-injury among Chinese left-behind children: The moderating roles of subjective socioeconomic status and social support. J. Interpers. Violence 2021 36 23-24 11165 11187 10.1177/0886260519897346 31916475
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Whang L.S.M. Lee S. Chang G. Internet over-users’ psychological profiles: A behavior sampling analysis on internet addiction. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 2003 6 2 143 150 10.1089/109493103321640338 12804026
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Yao L. Yang D. Analysis of the status of Internet addiction of college students and their emotional characteristics. Value Engineering 2014 27 326 328
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Zhang G. Lei L. Development and reliability and validity of the adolescent online game experience scale. Chin. J. Behav. Med. Brain Sci. 2015 84 87
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/aps/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
Loading
The Association between Game Addiction and Feelings of Loneliness and Depression in Adolescents
Bentham Science Publishers ; https://doi.org/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
/content/journals/aps/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
/content/journals/aps/10.2174/0122106766366672250507104646
Loading

Data & Media loading...


  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keywords: adolescents/teenagers ; mental health ; Loneliness ; depression ; stress ; anxiety ; game addiction ; social isolation

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test