Seclusion in adolescents with IGD: New diagnostic criteria or measure of severity?

Abstract Introduction Treatment demands for adolescents with problems derived from addictive video game use have increased significantly in recent years. In addition, many of these cases have concomitant social withdrawal or seclusion, which cause severe consequences in terms of global functioning. However, the authors could not find publications that study the relationship between IGD, seclusion and global functioning in adolescents in Western societies. The study aimed to investigate the association between these three constructs in an adolescent population. Method A sample of 135 outpatients (n = 118 males) with a mean age of 14.83 years (sd = 1.54), who consulted in the Addictive Behavior Unit of the Sant Joan de Deu Hospital in Barcelona (Spain), was assessed using the DSM-5 criteria for IGD, an ad hoc inventory on seclusion and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) to measure global functioning. Results: Results showed significant associations between global functioning and IGD on the one hand and the presence of different aspects of seclusion on the other. Linear regression showed that IGD and seclusion, as well as their interaction, predict global functioning significantly. Conclusion These findings suggest that the presence of seclusion can be considered a measure of severity and that, when both conditions are given simultaneously, a different diagnostic conceptualization might be necessary and, consequently, a more intense and integrated therapeutic approach. However, more research is needed in order to contrast and expand these findings.