Episode Details
Back to Episodes#440 - 🔵 [PAS 2026] - Is Gaming Addiction in Kids With ADHD About the Games or the Parenting?
Description
Dr. Emily Wassmer, researcher at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, presents findings from one of the first studies to examine gaming addiction in young children ages 5 to 12 with ADHD diagnoses. Using a newly developed caregiver-report screening tool based on DSM-5 criteria for internet gaming disorder, she found that inattention — more than hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, or autism symptoms — was the factor most strongly associated with meeting criteria for gaming addiction, mirroring patterns seen in adolescent research. Perhaps most striking was the parenting finding: each additional negative parenting behavior, such as yelling or losing one's temper, tripled the child's risk of gaming addiction — suggesting that evidence-based parent training programs already used in ADHD populations may be one of the most promising avenues for intervention.
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