Abstract
Despite growing concerns regarding the development of gaming disorder symptoms among adolescents, the longitudinal relationship between school factors and gaming disorder symptoms remains far from being fully understood. This two-year longitudinal study examined the relationship between school climate perceptions, academic achievement, and gaming disorder symptoms among three distinct demographic cohorts: preadolescents (n = 1513; 46.9% girls, Mage = 10.64 years, SD = 0.56), early adolescents (n = 1771; 48.3% girls, Mage = 13.54 years, SD = 0.70), and late adolescents (n = 2385; 50.1% girls, Mage = 16.41 years, SD = 0.59). A four-wave study was conducted (six months apart) using random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) to separate the within-person (state level) from the between-person (trait level) effects. The results obtained from the RI-CLPMs indicated that fluctuations in school climate perceptions negatively predicted subsequent changes in gaming disorder symptoms among preadolescents at the within-person level, but not among early and late adolescents. Fluctuations relating to gaming disorder symptoms also negatively predicted subsequent changes regarding academic achievement in late adolescents, but not in preadolescents and early adolescents. The effect of school-related factors on gaming disorder symptoms varies across different developmental stages. While preadolescents may represent a particularly susceptible subgroup for gaming disorder in terms of being predicted by their school environment, late adolescents appear to be more vulnerable to predictors of gaming disorder symptoms. The current study also discusses the implications of school-wide programs aimed at improving school climate and preventing the development of gaming disorder symptoms during key developmental periods.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Although the datasets have been used in previous research, the question, reported analyses, findings, and conclusions made in this article do not overlap with those of any others.
As the distribution of missing data was unknown, the mechanism of missing not at random could not be tested using the existing data.
Although the RI-CLPM included the cross-lagged effect between school climate and academic achievement, these effects were not the main interest of the present study.
As SES always has a significant effect on academic achievement (e.g., Liu et al., 2022), it also served as a covariate in this model to examine whether the results remained consistent.
References
Bear, G. G., Gaskins, C., Blank, J., & Chen, F. F. (2011). Delaware School Climate Survey—Student: Its factor structure, concurrent validity, and reliability. Journal of School Psychology, 49(2), 157–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2011.01.001.
Bear, G. G., Yang, C., Chen, D., He, X., Xie, J.-S., & Huang, X. (2018). Differences in school climate and student engagement in China and the United States. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(2), 323–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000247.
Billieux, J., Potenza, M. N., Maurage, P., Brevers, D., Brand, M., & King, D. L. (2020). Cognitive factors associated with gaming disorder. In A. Verdejo-Garcia (Ed.), Cognition and addiction (pp. 221–230). Elsevier.
Borgonovi, F. (2016). Video gaming and gender differences in digital and printed reading performance among 15-year-olds students in 26 countries. Journal of Adolescence, 48, 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.01.004.
Brandtner, A., Müller, S. M., & Brand, M. (2023). How expected and experienced reward and relief contribute to gaming-related mental imagery and gaming frequency in daily life: Testing a dual pathway hypothesis. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(3), 775–785. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00050.
Brunborg, G. S., Mentzoni, R. A., & Frøyland, L. R. (2014). Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems? Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 3(1), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.3.2014.002.
Chang, S. M., & Lin, S. S. (2019). Online gaming motive profiles in late adolescence and the related longitudinal development of stress, depression, and problematic internet use. Computers & Education, 135, 123–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.02.003.
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 233–255. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.
Clark, M. H., Middleton, S. C., Nguyen, D., & Zwick, L. K. (2014). Mediating relationships between academic motivation, academic integration and academic performance. Learning and Individual Differences, 33, 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.04.007.
Coelho, V. A., Romão, A. M., Brás, P., Bear, G., & Prioste, A. (2020). Trajectories of students’ school climate dimensions throughout middle school transition: A longitudinal study. Child Indicators Research, 13(1), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09674-y.
Cohen, J., McCabe, E. M., Michelli, N. M., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111(1), 180–213. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146810911100108.
Cruz, C., Hanus, M. D., & Fox, J. (2017). The need to achieve: players’ perceptions and uses of extrinsic meta-game reward systems for video game consoles. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 516–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.017.
Curran, P. J., & Bauer, D. J. (2011). The disaggregation of within-person and between-person effects in longitudinal models of change. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 583–619. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100356.
Davidson, L., Grigorenko, E., Boivin, M. J., Elizabeth, R., & Stein, A. (2015). A focus on adolescence to reduce neurological, mental health and substance-use disability. Nature, 527, S161–S166. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16030.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2015). Self-determination theory. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd ed., pp. 486–491). Elsevier.
Del Toro, J., & Wang, M. T. (2022). The roles of suspensions for minor infractions and school climate in predicting academic performance among adolescents. American Psychologist, 77(2), 173–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000854.
Drummond, A., & Sauer, J. D. (2020). Timesplitters: Playing video games before (but not after) school on weekdays is associated with poorer adolescent academic performance. A test of competing theoretical accounts. Computers & Education, 144, 103704 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103704.
Eccles, J. S. (2004). Schools, academic motivation, and stage-environment fit. In R. M. Lerner, & L. D. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2nd ed., pp. 125–153). Wiley.
Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. Guilford Publications.
Gan, X., Qin, K. N., Xiang, G. X., Jin, X., & Zhu, C. S. (2022). School assets and bullying in Chinese youth: A multiple mediation model of intentional self-regulation and internet gaming disorder. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10, 947869. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.947869.
Gentile, D. A., Reimer, R. A., Nathanson, A. I., Walsh, D. A., & Eisenmann, J. C. (2014). Protective effects of parental monitoring of children’s media use: A prospective study. JAMA Pediatrics, 168(5), 479–484. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.146.
Graham, J. W. (2009). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), 549–576. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530.
Griffiths, M. D., & Nuyens, F. (2017). An overview of structural characteristics in problematic videogame playing. Current Addiction Reports, 4, 272–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-017-0162-y.
Hamaker, E. L., Kuiper, R. M., & Grasman, R. P. P. P. (2015). A critique of the cross-lagged panel model. Psychological Methods, 20(1), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038889.
Hartanto, A., Toh, W. X., & Yang, H. (2018). Context counts: The different implications of weekday and weekend video gaming for academic performance in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers & Education, 120, 51–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.12.007.
Hawi, N. S., Samaha, M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Internet gaming disorder in Lebanon: Relationships with age, sleep habits, and academic achievement. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(1), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.16.
Huang, T., Hochbein, C., & Simons, J. (2020). The relationship among school contexts, principal time use, school climate, and student achievement. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(2), 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143218802595.
Hull, D. C., Williams, G. A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: A pilot study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(3), 145–152. https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.2.2013.005.
Hygen, B. W., Skalická, V., Stenseng, F., Belsky, J., Steinsbekk, S., & Wichstrøm, L. (2020). The co‐occurrence between symptoms of internet gaming disorder and psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence: Prospective relations or common causes? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(8), 890–898. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13289.
Ibrahim, J. G., & Molenberghs, G. (2009). Missing data methods in longitudinal studies: A review. Test, 18(1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11749-009-0138-x.
Jeong, E. J., Ferguson, C. J., & Lee, S. J. (2019). Pathological gaming in young adolescents: A longitudinal study focused on academic stress and self-control in South Korea. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48, 2333–2342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01065-4.
Ji, Y., Yin, M. X. C., Zhang, A. Y., & Wong, D. F. K. (2022). Risk and protective factors of Internet gaming disorder among Chinese people: A meta-analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56(4), 332–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674211025703.
Jia, Y., Way, N., Ling, G., Yoshikawa, H., Chen, X., Hughes, D., Ke, X., & Lu, Z. (2009). The influence of student perceptions of school climate on socioemotional and academic adjustment: A comparison of Chinese and American adolescents. Child Development, 80(5), 1514–1530. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01348.x.
Kaptsis, D., King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., & Gradisar, M. (2016). Withdrawal symptoms in internet gaming disorder: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 43, 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.11.006.
King, D. L., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2014). The cognitive psychology of internet gaming disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 34(4), 298–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.03.006.
Kirsh, S. J. (2009). Media and youth: A developmental perspective. Wiley-Blackwell.
Kojima, R., Shinohara, R., Akiyama, Y., Yokomichi, H., & Yamagata, Z. (2021). Temporal directional relationship between problematic internet use and depressive symptoms among Japanese adolescents: A random intercept, cross-lagged panel model. Addictive Behaviors, 120, 106989 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106989.
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Internet gaming addiction: A systematic review of empirical research. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10, 278–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-011-9318-5.
Little, R. J., & Rubin, D. B. (2019). Statistical analysis with missing data (vol. 793). John Wiley & Sons.
Liu, J., Peng, P., Zhao, B., & Luo, L. (2022). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement in primary and secondary education: A meta-analytic review. Educational Psychology Review, 34(4), 2867–2896. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09689-y.
Liu, Y., & Lu, Z. (2011). The Chinese high school student’s stress in the school and academic achievement. Educational Psychology, 31(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.513959.
Long, J., Liu, T., Liu, Y., Hao, W., Maurage, P., & Billieux, J. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of problematic online gaming: A systematic review of the evidence published in Chinese. Current Addiction Reports, 5, 359–371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-018-0219-6.
Lucas, R. E. (2023). Why the cross-lagged panel model is almost never the right choice. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231158378
Mahoney, J. L., Weissberg, R. P., Greenberg, M. T., Dusenbury, L., Jagers, R. J., Niemi, K., Schlinger, M., Schlund, J., Shriver, T. P., VanAusdal, K., & Yoder, N. (2021). Systemic social and emotional learning: Promoting educational success for all preschool to high school students. American Psychologist, 76(7), 1128–1142. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000701.
Melodia, F., Canale, N., & Griffiths, M. D. (2022). The role of avoidance coping and escape motives in problematic online gaming: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 996–1022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00422-w.
Nie, Q., Griffiths, M. D., & Teng, Z. (2023). The role of self-esteem in protecting against cyber-victimization and gaming disorder symptoms among adolescents: A temporal dynamics analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01890-8.
Nie, Q., Teng, Z., Yang, C., Lu, X., Liu, C., Zhang, D., & Guo, C. (2021). Psychological suzhi and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: A 2‐year longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), 638–657. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12384.
Nie, Q., Yang, C., Stomski, M., Zhao, Z., Teng, Z., & Guo, C. (2022). Longitudinal link between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration: A multilevel moderation analysis of perceived school climate. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(13–14), NP12238–NP12259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260521997940.
Nie, Q., Yang, C., Teng, Z., Furlong, M. J., Pan, Y., Guo, C., & Zhang, D. (2020). Longitudinal association between school climate and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of psychological suzhi. School Psychology, 35(4), 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000374.
O’Connor, M., Cloney, D., Kvalsvig, A., & Goldfeld, S. (2019). Positive mental health and academic achievement in elementary school: New evidence from a matching analysis. Educational Researcher, 48(4), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19848724.
Paulus, F. W., Ohmann, S., Von Gontard, A., & Popow, C. (2018). Internet gaming disorder in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(7), 645–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.13754.
Pine, R., Fleming, T., McCallum, S., & Sutcliffe, K. (2020). The effects of casual videogames on anxiety, depression, stress, and low mood: A systematic review. Games for Health Journal, 9(4), 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2019.0132.
Pöge, A. (2020). Stability and change of values during the formative years: Latent state–trait analyses of adolescents in a seven‐wave panel study. Journal of Personality, 88(2), 266–286. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12484.
Pontes, H. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Measuring DSM-5 internet gaming disorder: Development and validation of a short psychometric scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.006.
Reed, G. M., First, M. B., Billieux, J., Cloitre, M., Briken, P., Achab, S., Brewin, C. R., King, D. L., Kraus, S. W., & Bryant, R. A. (2022). Emerging experience with selected new categories in the ICD‐11: Complex PTSD, prolonged grief disorder, gaming disorder, and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder. World Psychiatry, 21(2), 189–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20960.
Riffle, L. N., Kelly, K. M., Demaray, M. L., Malecki, C. E., Santuzzi, A. M., Rodriguez-Harris, D. J., & Emmons, J. D. (2021). Associations among bullying role behaviors and academic performance over the course of an academic year for boys and girls. Journal of School Psychology, 86, 49–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2021.03.002.
Smetana, J. G., & Villalobos, M. (2009). Social cognitive development in adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., pp. 187–228). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strasburger, V. C., Wilson, B. J., & Jordan, A. (2013). Children, adolescents, and the media (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications
Takahashi, M., Adachi, M., Hirota, T., Nishimura, T., Shinkawa, H., Mori, H., & Nakamura, K. (2022). Longitudinal association between addictive internet use and depression in early adolescents over a 2-year period: A study using a random intercept cross-lagged model. Computers in Human Behavior, 132, 107251 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107251.
Teng, Z., Pontes, H. M., Nie, Q., Xiang, G., Griffiths, M. D., & Guo, C. (2020). Internet gaming disorder and psychosocial well-being: A longitudinal study of older-aged adolescents and emerging adults. Addictive Behaviors, 110, 106530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106530.
Thapa, A., Cohen, J., Guffey, S., & Higgins-D’Alessandro, A. (2013). A review of school climate research. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313483907.
Toker, S., & Baturay, M. H. (2016). Antecedents and consequences of game addiction. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 668–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.10.002.
Usami, S. (2021). On the differences between general cross-lagged panel model and random-intercept cross-lagged panel model: Interpretation of cross-lagged parameters and model choice. Structural Equation Modeling, 28(3), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2020.1821690.
Van Den Eijnden, R., Koning, I., Doornwaard, S., Van Gurp, F., & Ter Bogt, T. (2018). The impact of heavy and disordered use of games and social media on adolescents’ psychological, social, and school functioning. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(3), 697–706. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.65.
Vyas, S., & Kumaranayake, L. (2006). Constructing socio-economic status indices: How to use principal components analysis. Health Policy and Planning, 21(6), 459–468. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czl029.
Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2016). School climate: A review of the construct, measurement, and impact on student outcomes. Educational Psychology Review, 28(2), 315–352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9319-1.
Wang, M. T., & Dishion, T. J. (2012). The trajectories of adolescents’ perceptions of school climate, deviant peer affiliation, and behavioral problems during the middle school years. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(1), 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00763.x.
Wang, Y., Huebner, E. S., & Tian, L. (2021). Parent-child cohesion, self-esteem, and academic achievement: the longitudinal relations among elementary school students. Learning and Instruction, 73, 101467 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101467.
Way, N., Reddy, R., & Rhodes, J. (2007). Students’ perceptions of school climate during the middle school years: Associations with trajectories of psychological and behavioral adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 40, 194–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9143-y.
World Health Organization. (2020). Addictive behaviours: gaming disorder. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/addictive-behaviours-gaming-disorder.
Yang, C., Bear, G. G., Chen, F. F., Zhang, W., Blank, J. C., & Huang, X. (2013). Students’ perceptions of school climate in the U.S. and China. School Psychology Quarterly, 28(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000002.
Yu, C., Li, X., & Zhang, W. (2015). Predicting adolescent problematic online game use from teacher autonomy support, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and school engagement: A 2-year longitudinal study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(4), 228–233. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0385.
Zhang, M., Zhang, W., Li, Y., He, X., Chen, F., & Guo, Y. (2022). The relationship between perceptions of school climate and internet gaming disorder of teenage students: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 917872 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.917872.
Zhou, J., Zhao, H., Wang, L., & Zhu, D. (2023). The vicious cycle of family dysfunction and problematic gaming and the mediating role of self-concept clarity among early adolescents: A within-person analysis using random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(4), 920–937. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00054.
Zhuang, X., Zhang, Y., Tang, X., Ng, T. K., Lin, J., & Yang, X. (2023). Longitudinal modifiable risk and protective factors of internet gaming disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(2), 375–392. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00017.
Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Collins, W. A. (2006). Autonomy development during adolescence. In G. R. Adams & M. D. Berzonsky (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 175–204). Blackwell.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the teachers and research assistants of the study who helped with the data collection and input. We also acknowledge and thank the children and adolescents who took this longitudinal project.
Funding
The current study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32300887), and Funds for Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 23YJC190017), and the Chongqing Social Science Foundation (Grant No. 2022YC075).
Data Sharing and DeclarationThe data supporting the current study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Q.N. conceived the study, collected the data, interpreted the results, drafted and edited the manuscript; Z.T. conceived the study, collected the data, performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the results, drafted and edited the manuscript; C.Y. interpreted the results, drafted and revised the manuscript; M.D.G. interpreted the results, revised and edited the manuscript; C.G. conceived the study, supervised the process, collected the data, and drafted the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest except M.D.G. M.D.G. has received research funding from Norsk Tipping (the gambling operator owned by the Norwegian government). M.D.G. has received funding for a number of research projects in the area of gambling education for young people, social responsibility in gambling and gambling treatment from Gamble Aware (formerly the Responsibility in Gambling Trust), a charitable body which funds its research program based on donations from the gambling industry. M.D.G. undertakes consultancy for various gambling companies in the area of player protection and social responsibility in gambling.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the Research Project Ethical Review Application Form, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (IRB protocol number: H19008).
Informed Consent
Parental consent and adolescent assent were obtained from all participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Nie, Q., Teng, Z., Yang, C. et al. Longitudinal Relationships Between School Climate, Academic Achievement, and Gaming Disorder Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents. J. Youth Adolescence (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01952-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01952-5