Commentary on Karhulahti et al. (2022): addressing ontological diversity in gaming disorder measurement from an item-based psychometric perspective

Figures & data

Figure 1. Simulated network analyses. The network depicted in Figure 1A was simulated to illustrate reliable distinctness between assumed entities (high modularity, i.e., strong within-community relationships and weak between-community relationships). The network depicted in Figure 1B was simulated to illustrate unreliable distinctness between assumed entities (low modularity, i.e., comparable within-community relationships and between-community relationships). Circles reflect items. Circle coloring reflects community membership. Green lines reflect positive pairwise associations between items, whereas red lines reflect negative pairwise associations between items. Line thickness reflects the magnitude of relationships between objects. The approach used to simulate these two networks and the related code are available from https://osf.io/p4x6t/. 

Figure 2. Network analyses. The network depicted in Figure 2 was estimated from the data provided by Karhulahti et al. (2022). The graphical behavior of the estimated network resembles the network depicted in Figure 1B, illustrating unreliable distinctness between assumed entities (low modularity, i.e., comparable within-community relationships and between-community relationships). Circles reflect items. Circle coloring reflects community membership. Green lines reflect positive pairwise associations between items, whereas red lines reflect negative pairwise associations between items. Line thickness reflects the magnitude of relationships between objects. The approach used to estimate this network and the related code are available from https://osf.io/p4x6t/. 

Table 1. Item formulation differences.

Measurement instrument	Example of criterion	Item	Response modalities
IGDT-10 [based on DSM-5] (Király et al., 2017)	Loss of control (Item 4)	Have you ever unsuccessfully tried to reduce the time spent on gaming?	Never, Sometimes, Often (3 modalities)
GDT-4 [based on ICD-11] (Pontes et al., 2021)	Loss of control (Item 1)	I have had difficulties controlling my gaming activity.	Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Very Often (5 modalities)

Karhulahti V-M, Vahlo J, Martončik M, Munukka M, Koskimaa R, von Bonsdorff M. 2022. Ontological diversity in gaming disorder measurement: A nationally representative registered report. Addiction Research & Theory, Ahead of Print. 1–11.

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Király O, Sleczka P, Pontes HM, Urbán R, Griffiths MD, Demetrovics Z. 2017. Validation of the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) and evaluation of the nine DSM-5 Internet Gaming Disorder criteria. Addict Behav. 64:253–260.

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Pontes HM, Schivinski B, Sindermann C, Li M, Becker B, Zhou M, Montag C. 2021. Measurement and conceptualization of gaming disorder according to the World Health Organization Framework: The development of the Gaming Disorder Test. Int J Ment Health Addiction. 19(2):508–528.

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