Relationship Between Video Game Playing and ADHD Symptoms Severity in Children

<p>     Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent and impairing disorder for children and adolescents. Given the significant impact that the condition has on familial, social, academic, and occupational functioning, it is imperative to understand the specifics surrounding its course. Research has highlighted how the core symptoms of ADHD can make youth more susceptible to the influence of external factors, creating additional issues. To date, video game research is still forthcoming and limited, especially for children with ADHD (Razjouyan et al., 2020). This becomes increasingly important, as available research has demonstrated that not only do almost all households within the United States have video games available, but children and adolescents with ADHD spend more time playing video games than their peers (Granic et al, 2013). Due to the wide availability and usage of video games within the population, it is imperative to evaluate the influence video gaming has on academic and social functioning. As such, this study examined the relationship between ADHD symptom severity, video game playing, as well as the social and academic impairment. Significant positive relationships were found between ADHD symptom severity and video game playing, video game playing and academic impairment, and video game playing and relational impairment. The relationship between ADHD symptom severity, video game playing, and gender was not able to be analyzed due to a technical error. Results of this study hold important clinical implications. Lastly, it is the study’s hope that the findings from this research assist clinicians, families, and teachers supporting children with ADHD and that the information from this study is used to limit the negative effects that children with ADHD and who also play video games may experience.</p>