AUTHOR=Tang Ying , Liao Zhenjiang , Huang Shucai , Hao Jingyue , Huang Qiuping , Chen Xinxin , Lin Shuhong , Li YiFan , Qi Jing , Shen Hongxian TITLE=Development and Validation of a Risk Assessment Tool for Gaming Disorder in China: The Gaming Hazard Assessment Scale JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.870358 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.870358 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

Despite the growing research interest in gaming disorder, risk screening tools developed specifically for the Chinese population are still lacking. This study aimed to construct a screening tool to evaluate the risk of gaming disorder (GD) development, by assessing the severity of GD symptoms among Chinese gamers, based on clinical expert interviews, structured interviews with GD patients, a background literature review, and IGD/GD criteria proposed by the DSM-5 and ICD-11. It introduced the Gaming Hazard Assessment Scale—a multidimensional GD risk screening tool—and evaluated the dimension structure, reliability, and validity of the scale among 959 Chinese gamers. A three-level structure, consisting of 18 items scored from 0 to 54, ultimately indicated satisfactory reliability, good validity, and acceptable model fit. The scale will help large-scale initial screening and early identification of patients with a high risk of GD. Further evaluation of the Gaming Hazard Assessment Scale in clinical settings is highly recommended.