The Lived Experiences of Individuals and Coping Strategies in the Context of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Study Within Higher Education Setting in Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1 Biodata of Participants

Identifier	Sex	Age	Religion
P1	Female	25	Catholic
P2	Male	42	Pentecostal
P3	Female	25	Pentecostal
P4	Female	25	Anglican
P5	Female	27	Pentecostal
P6	Male	25	Catholic
P7	Female	25	Catholic
P8	Male	34	Catholic
P9	Female	42	Catholic
P10	Female	27	Catholic

Table 2 Themes Identified

Codes	Sub-themes	Major themes
“I started playing games when I was young…” “I got my new phone after like four…” “They help me pass the time when…” “They help when you are stressed.”	Childhood Exposure to gadgets and games Being idle Stress	Onset and triggering factors of gaming
“And maybe when I was here at school for…” “I could play games up to 3:00 am when…” “I used to pay a lot of attention on my phone like in that people could be talking to…” “Ever since I have been failing to do productive things…” “It’s costly because I would put data for…” “My eating I could say I had bad eating behaviors because…” “I have wasted a lot of time, ignored the things…”	Academic challenges Sleep deficits Decline in interpersonal relationships Declined job performance Money consumption Poor eating habits Time-consuming	Effects of engaging in gaming
“Not buying data because.” “I began to reach out to friends…” “You make sure you uninstall…”	Not buying data Reaching out to friends Uninstalling the game Apps	Strategies used to reduce gaming

Data Sharing Statement

The raw data for this article is available from the principal investigator upon reasonable request (Nalwoga Viola at [email protected]).