Objective:

To examine the association between internet gaming disorder (IGD), depression, anxiety, and loneliness among university students who play internet games.

Approach:

• Study Design: Cross-sectional study utilizing a self-reported questionnaire to gather data.
• Participants: 1,228 university students participated in the online survey conducted via Enketo Express on the Kobo Toolbox platform.
• Data Collection: Questionnaires included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, IGD Scale, and UCLA Loneliness Scale.
• Data Analysis: Frequencies, percentages, chi-square test, and multivariate regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Key Findings:

• 57.5% of university students were at risk of IGD.
• Females had higher odds of experiencing IGD than males (AOR: 0.668, p<0.005).
• Participants with a household income of less than $350 had lower odds of IGD compared to those with a family income exceeding $2500 (AOR: 0.427, p=0.003).
• Participants reporting anxiety (AOR: 1.806, p<0.001), depression (AOR: 1.380, p=0.038), and loneliness (AOR: 2.632, p<0.001) had increased odds of IGD.
• Participants gaming for 1-2 hours (AOR: 3.093, p=0.023), 3-4 hours (AOR: 3.786, p=0.004), and over 4 hours (AOR: 8.536, p=0.006) had higher odds of IGD compared to those gaming for less than 1 hour.

Interpretation:

The study demonstrated significant associations between IGD, depression, anxiety, and loneliness among university students.

Limitations:

• Cross-sectional design limits causal inferences.
• Self-reported data may introduce bias.

Conclusion:

University policymakers and mental health professionals should increase awareness of IGD and adopt early detection measures for at-risk students.