{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T01:34:21Z","timestamp":1789176861961,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Akademiai Kiado Zrt.","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]],"date-time":"2025-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738540800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["akjournals.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JBA"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>A longstanding challenge in the behavioral addictions field has been determining the point at which gaming involvement becomes clinically significant problematic use. Gaming disorder (GD) and hazardous gaming as recent ICD-11 diagnoses have attracted polarized perspectives due in part to the global popularity of recreational gaming and gaming culture. The broad continuum of gaming can often be perceived differently by different parties, including gamers themselves; what might be seen as regular, harmless, and normative to some, may be considered risky and problematic by others. The ICD-11 guidelines provide some clarity by advising that gaming disorder should not be diagnosed based on persistent gaming alone; that gaming as part of a routine, developing skills, changing mood or relieving boredom, or facilitating social interaction is not sufficient for a diagnosis; and that cultural and peer group norms should be considered in diagnosis. In this paper, we examine gaming normality-disorder boundary issues in the areas of conceptualization, assessment, and interventions. Some examples of the\u00a0complex personal, social, and cultural considerations that arise in gaming diagnoses are provided. We call for researchers in the addiction and health disciplines to grapple with conceptual controversy and conduct the empirical and clinical research needed to ensure that normal recreational gaming is always clearly distinguished from harm and disorder.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1556\/2006.2024.00081","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,3]],"date-time":"2025-02-03T16:43:21Z","timestamp":1738601001000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1556\/policypage.crossmark.crossref.2","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Toward resolving normality-disorder boundary issues in gaming disorder research"],"prefix":"10.1556","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1762-2581","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Daniel L.","family":"King","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Education, Psychology & Social Work, Flinders University, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7388-6194","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jo\u00ebl","family":"Billieux","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Centre for Excessive Gambling, Addiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sanni","family":"Behm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Peluuri, The Finnish Blue Ribbon, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0466-5611","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Paul H.","family":"Delfabbro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"425","reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"B1","series-title":"Journal of Behavioral Addictions","first-page":"267","article-title":"Scholars\u2019 open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 gaming disorder proposal","volume":"6","author":"Aarseth, E.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Aarseth, E., Bean, A. M., Boonen, H., Colder Carras, M., Coulson, M., Das, D., \u2026 Van Rooij, A. J. (2017). Scholars\u2019 open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 gaming disorder proposal. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6(3), 267\u2013270. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1556\/2006.5.2016.088."},{"key":"B2","series-title":"Addiction","first-page":"2119","article-title":"Brief overview of the WHO collaborative project on the development of new international screening and diagnostic instruments for gaming disorder and gambling disorder","volume":"117","author":"Carragher, N.","year":"2022","unstructured":"Carragher, N., Billieux, J., Bowden-Jones, H., Achab, S., Potenza, M., Rumpf, H. J., \u2026 Poznyak, V. (2022). Brief overview of the WHO collaborative project on the development of new international screening and diagnostic instruments for gaming disorder and gambling disorder. Addiction, 117, 2119\u20132121. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/add.15780."},{"issue":"9","key":"B3","series-title":"Addiction","first-page":"2463","article-title":"Expert appraisal of criteria for assessing gaming disorder: An international Delphi study","volume":"116","author":"Castro\u2010Calvo, J.","year":"2021","unstructured":"Castro\u2010Calvo, J., King, D. L., Stein, D. J., Brand, M., Carmi, L., Chamberlain, S. R., \u2026 Billieux, J. (2021). Expert appraisal of criteria for assessing gaming disorder: An international Delphi study. Addiction, 116(9), 2463\u20132475. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/add.15411."},{"issue":"9","key":"B4","series-title":"Addiction","first-page":"1687","article-title":"Gaming disorder and stigma\u2010related judgements of gaming individuals: An online randomized controlled trial","volume":"118","author":"Galanis, C. R.","year":"2023","unstructured":"Galanis, C. R., Weber, N., Delfabbro, P. H., Billieux, J., & King, D. L. (2023). Gaming disorder and stigma\u2010related judgements of gaming individuals: An online randomized controlled trial. Addiction, 118(9), 1687\u20131698. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/add.16211."},{"issue":"1","key":"B5","series-title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","first-page":"1","article-title":"Why do adults seek treatment for gaming (disorder)? A qualitative study","volume":"10","author":"Karhulahti, V. M.","year":"2023","unstructured":"Karhulahti, V. M., Behm, S., & Lukka, L. (2023). Why do adults seek treatment for gaming (disorder)? A qualitative study. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1\u20138. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1057\/s41599-023-01775-y."},{"issue":"10","key":"B6","series-title":"International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health","first-page":"3661","article-title":"The conceptual and methodological mayhem of \u201cscreen time\u201d","volume":"17","author":"Kaye, L. K.","year":"2020","unstructured":"Kaye, L. K., Orben, A., A. Ellis, D., C. Hunter, S., & Houghton, S. (2020). The conceptual and methodological mayhem of \u201cscreen time\u201d. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3661. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph17103661."},{"key":"B7","series-title":"Addictive Behaviors","article-title":"Prevalence of gaming disorder: A meta-analysis","volume":"126","author":"Kim, H. S.","year":"2022","unstructured":"Kim, H. S., Son, G., Roh, E. B., Ahn, W. Y., Kim, J., Shin, S. H., \u2026 Choi, K. H. (2022). Prevalence of gaming disorder: A meta-analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 126, 107183. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.addbeh.2021.107183."},{"key":"B8","series-title":"Journal of Behavioral Addictions","first-page":"1","article-title":"Face validity evaluation of screening tools for gaming disorder: Scope, language, and overpathologizing issues","volume":"9","author":"King, D. L.","year":"2020","unstructured":"King, D. L., Billieux, J., Carragher, N., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2020). Face validity evaluation of screening tools for gaming disorder: Scope, language, and overpathologizing issues. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 9, 1\u201313. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1556\/2006.2020.00001."},{"key":"B9","series-title":"Journal of Behavioral Addictions","first-page":"21","article-title":"Red box, green box: A self-report behavioral frequency measurement approach for behavioral addictions research","volume":"13","author":"King, D. L.","year":"2024","unstructured":"King, D. L., Billieux, J., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2024). Red box, green box: A self-report behavioral frequency measurement approach for behavioral addictions research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 13, 21\u201324. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1556\/2006.2023.00079."},{"key":"B10","series-title":"Clinical Psychology Review","article-title":"Screening and assessment tools for gaming disorder: A comprehensive systematic review","volume":"77","author":"King, D. L.","year":"2020","unstructured":"King, D. 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