AUTHOR=Costa Sebastiano , Kuss Daria J. 

TITLE=Current diagnostic procedures and interventions for Gaming Disorders: A Systematic Review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00578

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00578

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Despite the growth in the number of studies on Gaming Disorders (GD), assessing the characteristics of clinical subjects is still limited. Driven by the need to overcome this limitation, a broad systematic review is essential to cover the studies that have already assessed the clinical characteristics of individuals diagnosed with GD.</p><p><bold>Objectives:</bold> The aim of this systematic review is to provide a broad cross-cultural picture of the current diagnostic procedures and interventions used for GDs in clinical practice.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A total of 28 studies met the inclusion criteria, and data were synthesized in these categories: (1) the cultural background of the country where the research took place; (2) the instruments used to measure GD; (3) the diagnostic criteria for GD; (4) the diagnostic procedures used; and (5) the treatment protocol applied.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Results of this systematic review suggest that in GD clinical practice, there is a great deal of heterogeneity in the choice of instruments, the diagnostic and intervention processes for GD.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> This systematic review indicates that a validation process of standard procedures in clinical populations with GD is necessary to create clear shared guidelines for practitioners.</p>