Table 3.

Internet Gaming Disorder Test - 10 Items (IGDT-10)

IGDT-10 instruction: “Please read the statements below regarding video gaming. The questionnaire refers to video games (both online and offline, played on any platform). Please indicate on a scale from 0 to 2 (0 = never, 1 = sometimes, 2 = often) to what extent and how often these statements applied to you over the past 12 months.”
Item	Criterion (Király et al., 2019)	Difficulties	Suggestions for improvement	Statements of the participants
(1) When you were not playing, how often have you fantasized about gaming, thought of previous gaming sessions, and/or anticipated the next game?	Preoccupation	Participants do not refer to the criterion “preoccupation” but rather to gaming as a leisure activity with friends or to boredom without a negative impact on daily life.	Consider to define the situation more clearly (e.g., “[…] although you have other important things to do?”).	“Of course, because […] you can relax, meet your friends without leaving your house […].” “I often think back to LAN parties with friends […].” “Actually, I always look forward to such things when I have nothing else to do […].”
		The term “imagine playing games“ seems too abstract.	Consider to delete this term.	“Why should I imagine […] oh yeah […] a controller would be really nice in my hand […] (laughs)?”
(2) How often have you felt restless, irritable, anxious, and/or sad when you were unable to play or played less than usual?	Withdrawal	No relevant comments.
(3) Have you ever in the past 12 months felt the need to play more often or played for longer periods to feel that you have played enough?	Tolerance	Participants often refer to a temporary desire to finish a story (particularly when they had to pay for the game).	Rephrase the item and define the situation more clearly (“[…] although you have other important things to do?”)	“I want to finish the game and then put it aside because otherwise I feel like I've wasted the money.” “Sometimes when a game is very captivating […] you want to reach a certain level or the end of a campaign […] just to see an end or the progress of a story […].”
(4) Have you ever in the past 12 months unsuccessfully tried to reduce the time spent on gaming?	Loss of control	Participants' reported Internet use behavior does not lead to negative consequences in daily life.	Rephrase the item to assess more clearly if the gaming behavior leads to negative consequences (e.g., “[…] because you have noticed negative consequences?”)	“When my friends are online […] I want to play with them and ask myself: ‘What else should I do?’ And I have nothing to do anyway. It doesn't have a negative effect on me anyway, I can do it, as long as everything else is going on, I can go online. […] So yes, sometimes.”
(5) Have you ever in the past 12 months played games rather than meet your friends or participate in hobbies and pastimes that you used to enjoy before?	Giving up other activities	Participants refer to positive social gaming experiences. The desire to play online games might be normative and socially determined.	Define the situation more clearly (e.g., “[…] with friends outside of online activities”).	“My friends […] are online as well […] this connects us.”
(6) Have you played a lot despite negative consequences (for instance losing sleep, not being able to do well in school or work, having arguments with your family or friends, and/or neglecting important duties)?	Continuation	The item was perceived to be long and complicated.	Consider to shorten the examples.	“The question is too long. I'm trying to read the question again.” “Boah, this is lengthy.”
		There are various aspects in one question. Participants tend to build mean values across all options instead of considering whether at least one of the mentioned options applies to them.	In the instruction of the IGDT-10, point out that referring to at least one option is sufficient.	“Lack of sleep actually quite often because […] I prefer to game instead of sleeping. I'm not sure about the loss of performance […]. I'm still good in sports. […] I don't really have any duties […]. So I can't say that I've lost much. I would say […] sometimes.”
(7) Have you tried to keep your family, friends, or other important people from knowing how much you were gaming or have you lied to them regarding your gaming?	Deception	Participants refer to financial aspects of gaming.	Consider to extend the item (e.g., “[…] to hide how much time or money you spent with gaming […]?”).	“ […] invested with money but that question is related to time […].”
(8) Have you played to relieve from a negative mood (for instance helplessness, guilt, or anxiety)?	Escape	Participants played games to temporarily distract from negative emotions. However, despite high scorings they usually don't play games to avoid problem solving or functional emotional regulation in a long term.	Rephrase the item and define situation more clearly, e.g., “[…] to escape from negative mood […] in a long term?”.	“[…] to forget about my negative thoughts for a while […] and deal with the problem afterwards.”
(9) Have you ever in the past 12 months risked or lost a significant relationship because of gaming?	Negative consequences	Participants mainly refer to romantic relationships. They did not consider a potential negative impact of problematic gaming on family members or friends.	Consider to define the term “relationship” more clearly.	“I don't know how to interpret the term relationship […] whether it's really a romantic relationship or […] a friendly relationship.” “Not in the last twelve months. I was single.” “No […]. At the moment, I'm single.”
(10) Have you ever in the past 12 months jeopardized your school or work performance because of gaming?	Negative consequences	No difficulties. The item was easy to understand.
Overall findings of the IGDT-10		Offering only three answer options (never, sometimes, always) was perceived to be undifferentiated.	Consider to add more answer options.	“I take sometimes because never is a lie. But sometimes sounds like a lot […] I'll take sometimes anyway because there is nothing in-between […].”