Can Video Games Cause Addiction
The American Medical Association to Decide if Games can be Addictive
A recent paper published is claiming video games can lead to addiction, similar to gambling or alcohol, and a vote is called to determine its including in the DSM IV
This month the American Medical Association (AMA) voted on whether video game addiction was enough of a mental disorder to warrant its entry into the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). The DSM IV is the medical handbook mental health professionals turn to for categorical and diagnostic information for all accepted mental disorders. Were the AMA’s decision making body to endorse its inclusion, it would then be passed up to the American Psychiatric Association for the final consideration.
The decision to vote on the issue was raised by the Chairman on Science Public Health, Mohamed K. Khan, in a paper titled, “Emotional and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games.” Kahn believes that any video game has the potential to cause addictive behavior, but by far those who exhibited the most addictive signs were those who played the Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Games, such as the enormously popular World of Warcraft. Kahn also states that, “Current data suggest these individuals are somewhat marginalized socially, perhaps experiencing high levels of emotional loneliness and/or difficulty with real-life social interactions. Current theory is that these individuals achieve more control of their social relationships and more success in social relationships in the virtual reality realm than in real relationships.”
The paper makes numerous comparisons between the addictive behavior of gamblers and the addictive behaviors shown by video game “addicts”. People of any age group are susceptible to video game addiction. Other behaviors often associated with addiction, such as withdraw symptoms and the inability to stop using/playing games, the report was very vague about, but Kahn does say that some people can quit whenever they want while others cannot keep themselves from playing.
The decision on accepting the proposal took place over the course of the weekend of June 23rd. After much deliberation, the AMA rejected the proposal saying that video game addiction is not similar enough to alcoholism or compulsive gambling to warrant its inclusion. In a report by Reuters, Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine was quoted as saying, “There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn't have to have the word addiction attached to it,”
The matter is resolved for the time being, but it will rear its ugly head again in the near future. The DSM IV is to be updated sometimes in the year 2012, and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is scheduled to reconsider the proposal then. Lack of reliable studies hindered the proposal this time around, but the next 5 years will most likely see a rise in video game experiments. When the issue rises again in 2012 let’s just hope it’s not only the proponents for video game addiction that did their research.
