1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«In order to better understand the relationship between video game use/addiction and ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] in preschool/school children, we conducted a […] study with the following objectives: […] To determine the modalities of use of video games (playtime, addiction score and usage by age) in children with ADHD compared to children without ADHD. […] To examine the associations between video game addiction and ADHD symptoms. […] To explore the gender difference in video game use, the type of video games played by children with ADHD and the impact of parents on gaming.» (p. 2)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «expected to see an increase in addictive video gaming behaviors and in duration of video game use among children in the ADHD subgroup in comparison to the community population. [They also expected] that the intensity of ADHD symptomatology correlates positively with addictive behaviors.» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The participants were children aged 4–12 who comprised the three study groups. The first group was made up of children with ADHD (clinical group); the second was made up of children presenting one or more mental health diagnoses other than ADHD (clinical control group); and the third was made up of children from the general community (community control group). […] Participants in the clinical and clinical control groups were recruited at the outpatient pediatric (ADHD and development) and child psychiatric […] clinics at the CHU Sainte-Justine, and the outpatient child psychiatric clinics at the Hôpital-Rivière-des-Prairies of the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSS NIM).» (p. 2)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show that «a majority of parents do not play video games at all. This has an impact on the parents’ understanding and management of video games. […] Poor relationships with parents, poor parental control, hostile parenting, and lack of rules on screen use are risk factors for video game [addiction]. Parents must serve as role models with regard to screen use. [Also, a] negative association between income with addiction score and playtime [was identified], indicating that video game use (playtime and addiction) varies inversely with income.» (p. 8) Furthermore, «[p]arental modeling and educational guidelines for video gaming appear to have an impact on IGD [Internet gaming disorder].» (p. 9) All in all, results show that «ADHD symptoms and video game addiction appear to have a bidirectional relationship in which the ADHD symptoms make video gaming appealing, while play itself exacerbates the ADHD symptoms by providing an activity that continually reinforces the need for instant gratification. Long hours of video gaming may further reinforce and consolidate children’s propensity to uncontrolled reactivity and pervasive impatience without coaching to develop more reflection-oriented behaviors. [Also], the time dedicated to video gaming is spent at the expense of leisure activities such as sports, music and the arts, which would assist in developing children’s attention, self-assurance, behavioral inhibition, discipline, team skills, and socialization.» (p. 9)