Abstract
Objective: The objective of the study is to examine the association of probable attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the increase in video gaming and the severity of disordered gaming symptoms among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The second objective was to examine the mediating role of COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety and current age.
Methods: The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1), the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale- Short Form (IGDS9-SF), and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were used to evaluate university students.
Results: Participants with probable ADHD (n=117, 21.2%) did not differ in terms of age, gender, romantic relationship, employment status, and time spent on the gaming when compared with participants without probable ADHD (n=441, 79.0%). However, they had a higher rate of problems related to gaming, diagnosis of anxiety disorder before the COVID-19 pandemic and higher scale scores (IGDS9-SF and CAS). In the hierarchical logistic regression analysis, probable ADHD predicted the increase in video gaming during the pandemic, but when the current age and the dysfunctional anxiety related with COVID-19 were included in the analysis, they were significant predictors, whereas probable ADHD was no more a predictor. While probable ADHD was associated with the symptom severity of disordered gaming in ANCOVA, COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety was a significant covariate.
Conclusion: Findings of the current study may suggest that the relationship between probable ADHD and the increase in video gaming during the pandemic was mediated by lower age and COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety among young adults. Additionally, while COVID-19 related dysfunctional anxiety was a significant covariate for the severity of disordered gaming symptoms, probable ADHD was independently associated with the symptom severity of disordered gaming.

Key words: ADHD; anxiety; COVID-19; Internet gaming disorder