The Gaming Disorder Identification Test (GADIT) - A screening tool for Gaming Disorder based on ICD-11

Background: Gaming Disorder was included as an addictive disorder in the latest version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). The present study aimed to develop a screening tool for Gaming Disorder, the Gaming Disorder Identification Test (GADIT), based on the four ICD-11 diagnostic criteria – impaired control, increasing priority, continued gaming despite harm, and functional impairment.

Method: We reviewed 297 questionnaire items from 48 existing scales of gaming addiction and selected 68 items based on content validity. Two datasets were collected: 1) an online panel (N=803) from Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Canada, split into a development set (N=589) and a validation dataset (N=214); and 2) a university sample (N=408) from Australia. Item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to select eight items to form the GADIT. The validity was established by regressing it against known correlates of Gaming Disorder.

Results: Confirmatory factor analyses of the GADIT showed good model fit (RMSEA=<0.001-0.108; CFI=0.98-1.00), and internal consistency was  xcellent (Cronbach’s alphas=0.77-0.92). GADIT scores were strongly associated with the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10), and significantly associated with gaming intensity, eye fatigue, hand pain, wrist pain, back or neck pain, and excessive in-game purchases, in both the validation and the university sample datasets.

Conclusion: The GADIT has strong psychometric properties in two independent samples from four English-speaking countries collected through different channels, and shown validity against existing scales and variables that are associated with Gaming Disorder. A cut-off of 5 is tentatively recommended for screening for Gaming Disorder.