中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: Individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) often exhibit social anxiety, which causes them to avoid social situations or to enter an inattentive state when social interaction is unavoidable. The theta/beta ratio (TBR) is widely utilized as an electrophysiological (EEG) index of attentional change. We investigated differences in social brain activity between individuals at high and low risk for IGD by using virtual reality (VR) to elicit event-related oscillations (EROs) and then analyzing the TBR. Methods: We recruited 60 college students aged 18-26 (65% female) and assigned them to a high-risk group (HIGD) based on their score on the Chinese version of the Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10, score ≥ 5) and the number of hours they reported playing online games per week (≥ 10); we placed the rest in a low-risk (LIGD) group. After completing the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), participants wore the study equipment, which integrates VR and EEG devices. Their EEG responses were recorded as they watched virtual socioemotional scenarios. Results: The HIGD group consisted of 30 participants (mean age = 20.07 years, 56.7% female) and the LIGD group also had 30 participants (mean age = 21.77 years, 73.3% female). We identified a significant difference in addiction scores between the groups (p < .01), and the HIGD group also scored significantly higher on the SIAS than the LIGD group (p < .05). In contrast, we found no significant difference between the 2 groups in ERQ (reappraisal: p = .96; suppression: p = .48). The EEG data indicated that the HIGD group exhibited significantly higher TBR in the Fz and Cz electrodes (MFz = 1.84, MCz = 1.45) than the LIGD group (MFz = 1.33, MCz = 1.03) while watching the VR films (p < .05), indicating reduced attentional engagement in social contexts. Moreover, the TBR values in both groups was significantly positively correlated with the SIAS scores (p < .05). Based on within-subject comparisons, the HIGD group had a significant increase in their TBR from baseline (MFz = 1.52, MCz = 1.27) after watching the film (MFz = 1.84, MCz = 1.45) (p < .05), whereas we observed no such change in the LIGD group (before: MFz = 1.38, MCz = 1.07; after: MFz = 1.33, MCz = 1.03) (p > .05). Conclusion: Subjective reports and our EEG data indicate a strong association between IGD and social stress, suggesting that both may serve as valuable assessment tools in school counseling and clinical settings.