Video Gaming, a Protective Factor or a Gateway

For Early Adolescent Alcohol, Nicotine, and

Cannabis Use
Kylie Woodman, Sungbin Youk, Brittany Wheeler, & René
Weber

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of Communication
Media Neuroscience Lab
http://medianeuroscience.org
 Video Games

Video games are a digital game programmed with

rewards and punishments to engage and direct
players toward an end goal through immediate
feedback.

+ =
 Global Prevalence
Lithuania 9.3 %

Germany 14%
Sweden 22%
Canada 8.5%
UK 2.7%
94% youth play at
least one hour

United States 2%
China 1.1%
91-99% youth
play at least one Hong Kong 14%
hour
60% youth play at
least one hour
3%
[2.38, 3.91] Global Australia 2.5%
Gaming Disorder
Prevalence
Stevens et al.,
 Defining Gaming Disorder
American Psychiatric Association
World Health Organization Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V,
International Classification of Diseases -11, 2018 2013

● Preoccupation or obsession ● Preoccupation or obsession

● Loss of control ● Loss of control
● Continued overuse despite negative ● Continued overuse despite negative
consequences consequences
● Withdrawal
● Tolerance
● Loss of interest
● Deceiving
● Escape of negative feelings
● Functional impairment
 Substance vs. Gaming Addiction

Substance Addiction BOTH Gaming Addiction

● Addicted to the substance ● Risk Factors ● Addicted to the feeling of

itself (psychotropic drugs) ○ Poor Impulse Control playing games but not the
● Artificial Dopamanergic ○ Low SES game itself
stimulation ○ High Novelty Seeking ● Conditioned behavior
● Risky behavior ○ Internalizing and through the Dopamenergic
Externalizing System
Behaviors ● Large gender differences
● Diagnostic Criteria
● Underlying cognitive
mechanims

Kwan et al., 2020; Alvi et al., 2012; & DSM-V, 2015

 Research Aims

Hypothesis 1: Previous problematic gaming and substance use will increase

subsequent substance use.

Research Question 1: Will previous problematic gaming increase subsequent (a)

alcohol, (b) nicotine, and (c) cannabis use?

Research Question 2: Will previous (a) alcohol, (b) nicotine, and (c) cannabis use
increase subsequent problematic gaming use?

Research Question 3: Does (a) alcohol, (b) nicotine, (c) cannabis, and (d)
problematic gaming use differ depending on preexisting risk factors
Early Adolescents

1. Maturation Imbalance Hypothesis

a. Neural imbalance
b. Increased risk taking, Reward and novelty
seeking
2. Substance Use
a. Media age of onset = 15
b. Range 10-18
3. Gaming Disorder
a. Ages 10-18 gaming disorder 8.9% among
gamers
 Methods
● Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study
a. 11,872 youth across 21 locations in the United States
b. Representative in race, ethnicity, & gender
● Longitudinal panel study
a. Baseline: 9-10 year olds
b. 1YR: 10-11 year olds
c. 2YR: 11-12 year olds
d. 3YR: 12-13 year olds
● Video Game
a. Screen Time Questionnaires
■ Time spent playing singleplayer and multiplayer
video games
b. Addiction Questionnaire
■ 7 questions based on the DSM-V
■ “I play video games so much that it has had a bad
effect on my schoolwork or job”
● Demographic Information
● Substance Use
a. Substance use questionnaire (6 months)
b. Timeline-follow-back (Daily)
● Risk-Taking Behaviors: Game of Dice
 Results: Alcohol Use

Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM)

 Results: Nicotine Use

Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM)

 Results: Cannabis Use

Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM)

 Takeaways

There is a strong link between problematic gaming and later

cannabis use. Alcohol use is associated decreases problamatic
gaming at T3.

Income, risk aversion, and being male are all individual predictors of
problamatic gaming. Whereas income is the only predictor of
substance use (risk aversion for nicotine).

There are many overlaps between substance use and problomatic gaming.
However, substance use and problematic gaming are not necessarily co-
morbid even if there is the same underlying neural mechanism

Individual factors and motivations play a larger role in the development of

substance use and problematic gaming- contrary to the many parallels
drawn in the literature
THANK YOU
Questions?
Kylie Woodman, Sungbin Youk, Brittany
Wheeler, & René Weber

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of Communication
Media Neuroscience Lab
http://medianeuroscience.org

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