A Scoping Review of the Literature on Health Outcomes Associated with Video Game Addiction in Children and Preadolescents

Background: Despite the increased scholarly attention across disciplines to the rapidly evolving phenomenon of video game addiction (VGA) in the global population, few studies focus on primary school-aged children and preadolescents notwithstanding that those children play more frequently than their older peers and may be more susceptible to the adverse health outcome posed by excessive gaming.

Objective: This scoping review investigates literature on health outcomes associated with an addiction to recreational video game playing in children ages 5 - 11. Furthermore, this scoping review aims to identify theoretical frameworks used in the literature to explain how or why young people are particularly vulnerable to the development of disordered gaming.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was used to inform this scoping review. Google Scholar, APA PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched for English-language articles published between 2006 and 2022. Articles selected for inclusion in this scoping review were peer-reviewed, addressed health outcomes associated with VGA, and had study samples of participants who were between the ages of 5 to 11 years old. 2,723 articles were identified for potential inclusion in this study. 40 studies were selected for review.

Conclusions & Implications: Nearly every study (n=38) included in the scoping review confirmed the adverse impact of VGA on children’s health, yet many researchers exhibited a reluctance to pathologize gaming behaviors of young children. Less than half of studies included in this review used theoretical frameworks (n=16). Identified gaps in the literature include: (1) research on physical health outcomes related to VGA, (2) theoretical frameworks to reconceptualize the notion of disordered gaming, (3) the need for qualitative explorations of young gamers’ perspectives, especially those of neurodivergent youth as well as sexual and gender minority youth, on digital play. Recommendations for future research include an examination of contradictions or “gaming paradoxes” that were evident across studies in this review along with an examination of the role played by the gaming industry as a driver of health outcomes as opposed to its current positioning in the literature - evidence of video game popularity. Finally, centering the voices and lived experiences of children in future research is essential to building a more developmentally grounded, inclusive understanding of video gaming. For clinical social workers, this calls for a dual awareness: the ability to recognize the risks of maladaptive gaming while also affirming the meaningful, identity-shaping potential of video games as spaces for imaginative digital play.

Keywords: video game addiction, internet gaming disorder, excessive gaming, children, preadolescents, generation alpha, iGen, scoping review, social work practice