The Problem Video Game Playing Questionnaire (or PVP Questionnaire) is a scale measured by using a survey containing nine yes-or-no questions. It is designed to measure the disorder commonly referred to as
video game addiction
Video game addiction (VGA), also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in vario ...
.
The creators of the scale and accompanying survey are Dr. Ricardo Tejeiro-Salguero, a researcher at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, and Dr. Rosa María Bersabé-Moran, a Psychology professor at the
University of Málaga
The University of Málaga (UMA, ''Universidad de Málaga'') is a public university ranked 23 among all Spanish universities and 683 in the world. It was established in 1972 and has, as of 2016, 30,203 Bachelor students and 2576 on a Master's pr ...
.
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Scale
The scale’s survey questions are based on the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
[DSM-IV, ]American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...
, 1994. (DSM) criteria for substance dependence, and for pathological gambling, as well as the literature on addictions. In presenting their article, published in the British journal ''Addiction'' in 2002,
Tejeiro-Salguero and Bersabé-Moran showed, through psychometric analysis, that the PVP Questionnaire is one-dimensional, and has acceptable internal consistency (
Cronbach's alpha
Cronbach's alpha (Cronbach's \alpha), also known as tau-equivalent reliability (\rho_T) or coefficient alpha (coefficient \alpha), is a reliability coefficient that provides a method of measuring internal consistency of tests and measures. Numero ...
) of 0.69. The pattern of associations between scale scores and alternative measures of problem play (r=0.64 with frequency of play; r=0.52 with mean duration of play; r=0.56 with longest time per session; r=0.47 with score on the Severity of Dependence Scale; all p < 0.001) supports its construct validity.
A study by Hart et al.
concluded that, while the PVP is a robust measure of addiction, there is no support for the use of a cutoff score of any level with this instrument.
Further, Tejeiro-Salguero
suggested that the pattern of problems associated with high PVP scores can be best referred to as
abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
, since it is quite similar to the DSM-IV-TR
criteria for substance abuse: a maladaptive pattern (of use) leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by a failure to fulfill major role obligations at school or home, or continued use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by behavior (arguments, physical fights).
A 2013 review presented in the ''
Clinical Psychology Review
Clinical Psychology Review' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that supports subscription based and open access publication of reviews on topics relevant to the field of clinical psychology. Gordon J. G. Asmundson (University of Regina) serve ...
'' journal by a team of professors from Australia, the Netherlands and the UK found that, among 18 instruments analyzed, the PVP was the only one that demonstrated capacity to assess the proposed DSM-V classification of "
Internet Use Disorder". Four instruments (including the PVP) demonstrated strong convergent validity, and the scores in the scale were positively related to those of the other six instruments reviewed. Also, the PVP and three other instruments demonstrated a single-factor structure with the factor termed "addiction". The authors concluded that "on the basis of available evidence, this review suggests that the Problem Video Game Playing scale may provide the best overall measure of Internet Use Disorder".
Research with the PVP
The article presenting the PVP questionnaire was also published in 2003 in the Italian journal ''Personalita/Dipendenze'',
edited by the Societa di Studio per i Disturbi di Personalitá and in the Greek journal ''Exartiseis''.
A short article including the questionnaire's nine items was also published in the American newsletter ''The Complete Practitioner''.
Since 2003, the PVP (in its original version or with minor changes affecting the number of questions or the response format) has been utilized in a variety of studies conducted in several countries:
United States
* Lyles (2007)
* Langley (2010)
* Elliott, Golub, Ream, & Dunlap (2012)
* Ream, Elliott & Dunlap (2011a)
* Ream, Elliott & Dunlap (2011b)
* Tolchinsky & Jefferson (2011)
* Lewis, Weber & Bowman (2006)
* Hart et al. (2009)
Canada
* Adlaf, Paglia-Boak, Beitchman & Wolfe (2008)
* Parker et al. (2008)
* Taylor (2008)
* Lafrenière, Vallerand, Donahue & Lavigne (2009)
Iceland
* Hróarsson (2004)
* Einarsdóttir (2008)
* Skarphédinsson, Pálsdóttir, & Ólason (2008)
* Arnasson (2011)
France
* Bioulac, Arfi & Bouvard (2008)
* Bioulac, Arfi & Bouvard (2010)
Australia
* Loton (2007)
* Porter et al. (2010)
Thailand
* Hongsanguansri, Silpakit & Ruangkanchanasetr (2006)
* Supaket, Munsawaengsub, Nanthamongkolchai, & Apinuntavetch (2008)
Spain
* Tejeiro, Angulo, Gómez-Vallecillo, Pelegrina, Wallace & Emberley (2012)
Brazil
* Icassati-Suzuki, Vieira, Araujo, & Magallaes (2009)
Chile
* Arab et al. (2007)
Peru
* Vallejos & Capa (2010)
United Kingdom
* Collins, Freeman, & Chamarro-Premuzic (2012)
China
* De-Lin Sun et al. (2008)
References
{{reflist
Mental disorders screening and assessment tools
Addiction psychiatry