Examining The Temporal Associations Between Depression And Pathological Gaming

In North America, pathological gaming frequently co-occurs with depression. Current literature provides mixed support for three different models of temporal precedence: The vulnerability model, scar/complication model, and reciprocal model. In the present study, we examined directional associations between pathological gaming and depression, using a short-term multiwave study design. Two hundred and eighty-nine participants from North America completed a three-wave 4-week study through Amazon Mechanical Turk. We ran two cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) to test temporal associations between depression and both time spent gaming and gaming-related problems. The first CLPM showed evidence for reciprocal effects between depression and gaming-related problems; however, effects over time were more consistent for depression preceding gaming problems (vulnerability model). The second CLPM showed no cross-lagged associations between depression and time spent gaming. Both models were invariant across gender. The results of this study clarify depression's unique relation to gaming-related problems, irrespective of gender.