Driven by motivation, fueled by rage, and struggling to disengage: a serial mediation model of internet gaming disorder in adolescents

Although problematic gaming has increasingly been recognized as a public mental health concern, the psychological mechanisms underlying its development remain insufficiently understood, particularly during adolescence, a developmental period characterized by heightened emotional reactivity and still-maturing cognitive control that may increase vulnerability to behavioral addictions. The present study examined the relationship between gaming motivations and internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms among high school students, focusing on the roles of gaming rage and difficulties in adaptive disengagement from gaming. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 259 students from a public high school in Poland. LASSO regression was applied to identify the most relevant predictors while reducing potential multicollinearity among the examined variables. Amotivation, introjected regulation, gaming rage, and disengagement difficulties were retained as predictors of IGD symptoms. Subsequently, serial mediation models were estimated with gaming rage and disengagement difficulties included as mediators. Amotivation and introjected regulation positively predicted IGD symptoms. Moreover, gaming rage and disengagement difficulties functioned both as independent mediators and as sequential mediators. Experiencing rage during gameplay was associated with greater difficulties disengaging from gaming, with this pattern being consistent with continued cognitive and emotional involvement after gameplay has ended. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the correlates of problematic gaming in adolescents and suggest that post-gaming emotion regulation and adaptive disengagement may be relevant targets for preventive interventions.