Differential Treatment Response in Adolescents with Gaming Disorder

Abstract: Aims: Three-quarters of German adolescents engage in frequent gaming; 3.4 % meet criteria for gaming disorder (GD), which is associated with psychological and academic impairment. High dropout rates and other patient-related factors limit clinically meaningful symptom reduction, highlighting the need to identify predictors of improvement. This study aimed to identify individual factors for subgrouping adolescents to predict symptom reduction. Methods: 74 adolescents with GD (aged 11 – 19) completed the 8-week specialized program Res@t within different treatment settings. GD symptoms and psychological variables were assessed in a pre-post- design. An exploratory latent profile analysis identified subgroups; their predictive value for GD symptom reduction was tested via logistic regression. Results: Three profiles were supported based on baseline GD symptoms and psychological distress (PD): (1) adolescents with mild GD – low PD (34 %), moderate GD – high PD (37 %), and severe GD – medium PD (29 %). Adolescents in the moderate (OR = 9.00; p = 0.021) and severe GD groups (OR = 10:00; p = 0.015) showed greater symptom reduction than the mild group. Profile membership explained 31 % of the variance in symptom reduction. Conclusion: Adolescents with more severe GD presentations benefited most from treatment. Identified profiles captured meaningful variability in outcomes. Tailored distress-informed interventions may improve treatment outcomes in adolescents with GD.