Course | Gaming Disorder and Internet Addiction

About the Author

Louis R. Franzini, PhD
Louis R. Franzini, PhD, received his B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, his M.A. degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Toledo, and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavior Modification at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (now Stony Brook University). Following the postdoctoral program Dr. Franzini joined the Psychology Department at San Diego State University, where he spent his entire academic career. He retired as Emeritus Professor of Psychology. His international academic experience included appointments as Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-le-Neuve, Belgium and Senior Fellow in the School of Accountancy and Business, Human Resource and Quality Management Division at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Franzini is licensed as a psychologist in Florida and in California.

Course Abstract

Gaming Disorder and Internet Addiction is a 1-hour online continuing education (CE) course that examines the controversial mental health condition of gaming disorder, and the broader concept of internet addiction.

Parents, educators, and health care professionals have all expressed concerns about the proliferation of electronic devices and their negative effects throughout our society. Professional organizations have moved toward considering that the overuse of such devices may be diagnosable mental disorders. These actions have raised a number of related legitimate and controversial issues, which professionals, parents, and societal leaders must address.

Periodically the American Academy of Pediatrics issues recommendations for children for limits on their screen time. Daily screen time for children under age 2 more than doubled from 1997 to 2014, from 1.5 hours to over 3 hours each day. In response the Academy has now asked that children under age 2 avoid all digital media.

This course will review the latest developments in this area and some of the pros and cons of those issues. Gaming disorder itself may be regarded as a subarea of the broader concept of internet addiction. Some of the topics addressed in this course include Process and Problems of Approval of New Disorders, Scientific Issues of Reliability and Validity in the DSM, Does Playing Violent Video Games Cause Violent Behavior, and Substance-Related Addictions.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the process and problems of adding or deleting a mental disorder from the DSM
2. Identify WHO’s criteria for diagnosing the newly added “mental health condition” of gaming disorder
3. Discuss the relationship between substance-related and behavioral addictions
4. List three pros and cons of video gaming and internet usage

Course Directions

This online course provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. The course is text-based (reading) and the CE test is open-book (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).Successful completion of this course involves passing an online test (80% required, 3 chances to take) and we ask that you also complete a brief course evaluation.

Credit

CE Credit Hours : 1
Credit may be available for this course and may vary by country or institution. Please verify eligibility with Professional Development Resources.