Most adolescents play video games without experiencing negative developmental outcomes. Yet, for a small percentage, video game play can become pathological, disrupting healthy functioning. Because most studies of video gaming have been cross-sectional and lasted from one to two years, it isn't known whether pathological gaming is a long-lasting issue or if it resolves over time. A longitudinal study examined the trajectories of pathological video game players across six years, from early adolescence to emerging adulthood.

Participants included 385 adolescents ages 14 to 16 years at baseline (53% were female). Each year for six years, participants completed several questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, aggression, and other measures of pathological gaming.

Three distinct trajectories were identified. Approximately 10% of participants were categorized in Class 1, defined by the researchers as "increasing symptoms." They had the highest levels of pathological video game symptoms at baseline, and their symptoms increased over six years. Class 2 comprised the 18% of participants who had "moderate symptoms" at baseline that didn't change over time. Class 3, referred to as "nonpathological," comprised the 72% of participants whose few initial pathological symptoms increased slightly at year 3 but decreased afterward.

Participants in the increasing and moderate symptom groups were significantly more likely to be male than those in the nonpathological group, and the increasing symptom group scored significantly lower on prosocial behavior than the moderate symptom group. Both the increasing and moderate symptom groups had higher levels of aggression, depression, and shyness compared with the nonpathological group, and the increasing symptom group had higher problematic cell phone use and anxiety than the nonpathological group.

A small number of adolescents and emerging adults may have a gaming disorder, and even those with moderate symptoms may have long-lasting effects, the authors conclude. They also note that the study was limited by a small sample size and relied heavily on self-report.