Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics and craving ratings
| IGD (n = 29) | HC (n = 23) | t/χ2/U/F | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mean ± SD | mean ± SD | |||
| Characteristics | ||||
| Age | 22.59 ± 2.24 | 23.09 ± 2.13 | −0.82 | .418 |
| Years of education | 15.52 ± 1.43 | 15.91 ± 1.47 | −0.98 | .333 |
| CIAS scores | 75.55 ± 7.64 | 45.65 ± 9.80 | 12.37*** | <.001 |
| Time Internet gaming (hours per week) | 21.86 ± 9.82 | 0.92 ± 0.20a | 6.28*** | <.001 |
| Alcohol use (at least once per month) | 25b/0.86c | 17b/0.74c | 1.25 | .264 |
| Cigarette use (at least once per month) | 5b/0.17c | 0b/0.00c | 4.39* | .036 |
| Depression severity (BDI scores) | 7.86 ± 5.67 | 2.91 ± 3.04 | 4.03*** | <.001 |
| Anxiety severity (BAI scores) | 5.48 ± 5.25 | 3.18 ± 3.16 | 1.96 | .056 |
| Craving ratings | ||||
| Background craving | 29.83 ± 7.62 | 13.30 ± 6.93 | 41.35d*** | <.001 |
| Craving for Internet gaming | 4.95 ± 1.16 | 1.52 ± 0.67 | 109.08d (39.15)e*** | <.001 |
| Craving for general Internet surfing | 3.37 ± 1.21 | 2.94 ± 1.10 | 0.78d (0.93)e | .383d (.341)e |
| Craving (game-control) | 1.58 ± 1.09 | −1.42 ± 1.04 | 66.50d (35.93)e*** | <.001 |
Note. SD: standard deviation; IGD: Internet gaming disorder; HC: healthy control; CIAS: Chinese Internet Addiction Scale; FTND: Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence; BAI: Back Anxiety Inventory; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; Background craving: assessed by an 8-item Likert scale adapted from the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges; Craving (game-control): scores of Craving for Internet gaming – scores of Craving for general Internet surfing stimuli.
an = 6. bThe number of participants. cThe rate of alcohol and cigarette user. dF test regressing BAI, BDI, and state of smoke. eF test regressing BAI, BDI, state of smoke, and background craving.
*p < .05. ***p < .001.