Internet gaming disorder and the alternative five factor personality model: a study in a Spanish community sample

Background: This study was designed to examine the prevalence and relationships between the Internet gaming disorder (IGD) behaviors, suggested by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and personality traits.

Participants and procedure: A sample community of 1,548 subjects, 707 men and 841 women, with a mean age of 40.90 and 38.89 years, respectively, was evaluated.

Results: The results showed that only 7 subjects (0.5%) exceeded the cut-off point of 75 points to be classed as "disordered gamers" proposed by Fuster et al. (2016) in Spain. This study demonstrates the unidimensionality of the IGD-20, so it can be used as an ordinal dimensional measure to study the relationship between IGD symptoms and other related variables such as personality in community samples. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that up to 8% of the variance of the Internet Gaming Disorder-20 scale (IGD-20), as a dimensional scale, can be explained by low activity, high aggressiveness, introversion, non-planning impulsivity, sensation seeking, neuroticism and impulsiveness (attention impulsivity) using the Alternative Five Factor Model (AFFM) of personality and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11).

Conclusions: This study shows that the prevalence of IGD in the Spanish population is similar to that of other Western countries. The unidimensionality of the IGD-20 allows its use in correlational studies to examine the relationship between Internet gambling behaviors and personality variables. The implications of these personality profiles are discussed in relation to the psychological and clinical mechanisms involved in Internet gaming disorder.