Video Game Addiction among High School Students in Hordaland; Prevalence and Correlates

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of video game addiction among high school students (N = 531) in Hordaland county, Norway. Video game addiction measured by the Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents was estimated both by a monothetic and a polythetic format. The prevalence was found to be 2.5% and 12.5%, respectively. Regression analyses were conducted where video game addiction comprised the dependent variable. Demographic variables, depression, anxiety, loneliness, aggression, smoking, and alcohol consumption comprised the independent variables. Video game addiction was positively associated with male gender, depression, anxiety, loneliness, aggression and smoking, and negatively associated with both higher paternal education and alcohol consumption. Little research has been conducted on video game addiction and there is no consensus concerning its operationalization. Still, the results of our study are fairly consistent with previous findings and contribute to the construct validity of video game addiction