Bidirectional associations between video game playing and ADHD symptoms among school-aged children

Past research has suggested associations between gaming and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children and adolescents. Yet, little research has been conducted to clarify the directionality of this association during middle childhood when ADHD issues typically emerge. Clarifying directionality is key to understanding whether gaming precedes and predicts ADHD symptoms, or the opposite. To shed light on this topic, this study investigates this association longitudinally during middle childhood. We employed a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model to estimate longitudinal bidirectional associations between child gaming and ADHD symptoms from ages 6 to 10. Variables were derived from parent-reported child weekly hours of gaming and teacher-reported child ADHD symptoms. Data are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based cohort of Canadian children (N = 1749). We hypothesized a bidirectional association. Our results revealed that higher levels of ADHD symptoms at age 6 predicted more time gaming at age 7. Likewise, more ADHD symptoms at age 7 predicted more gaming at age 8. However, later in development, this association reverses direction: higher levels of gaming at age 8 predicted more ADHD symptoms at age 10. Additional analyses of separated dimensions of ADHD revealed that associations with gaming were stronger for the hyperactivity/impulsivity dimension. These findings suggest that children with more ADHD symptoms tend to devote more time to gaming during the early years of middle childhood. In turn, this increase in gaming during early school years contributes to worsening ADHD symptoms later in development, particularly hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms.