Indicators of abusive use of video games in adolescents aged 12 to 14 years. Assessment by a panel of experts

Objective: To identify the most relevant indicators of video game abuse by adolescents aged between 12 and 14 by means of a panel of experts in the field. Design: Delphi study in two rounds based on an initial questionnaire of 86 indicators (distributed in 3 areas and 12 dimensions). The experts had to indicate the positive predictive value (PPV) of the indicators, a rate >= 60% was considered consensus. In the second round they had to assess whether the position of these indicators in the ranking based on the PPV was correct or incorrect. Location: Cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary project. Data collection was designed and carried out as an online questionnaire. Participants: The panel included experts (n = 45) in the fields of social and health care (n = 16), associations (n = 9), video game research (n = 14) and education (n = 5). Method: Indicators were designed through a literature review, a pilot test was conducted and data collection was initiated in rounds between September and November 2024. Results were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0.0.0.0. Results: In the first phase, 60 indicators of misuse with a PPV >= 60% were identified. In the second round, consensus was reached on the order of these indicators. Conclusions: Key indicators of video game abuse in adolescents aged 12-14 years have been identified. These indicators can be used for early detection of the problem, implementation of preventive strategies and to promote healthy use. (c) 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).