Gaming may increase risk of OCD in children, study finds

Referrals to NHS for disorder have more than doubled in under 10 years

VIDEO games may raise the risk of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children, a study has suggested.

Researchers in the US asked more than 9,000 children, aged between nine and 10, how much time they spent playing video games and watching videos. Two years later, they checked to see which of them had gone on to develop OCD.

Playing video games increased the risk of OCD by 13 per cent for every average hour spent a day using them, while every hour watching videos increased the risk by 11 per cent.

Dr Jason Nagata, assistant professor of paediatrics at the University of California, said: “Children who spend excessive time playing video games report feeling the need to play more and more and being unable to stop despite trying. Intrusive thoughts about video game content could develop into obsessions or compulsions.”

Dr Nagata warned watching videos can also make preteens want to compulsively view similar content that is often exacerbated by algorithms and advertisements.

OCD is a mental health condition involving recurrent and unwanted thoughts as well as repetitive behaviours a person feels driven to perform.

Dr Nagata added: “Screen addictions are associated with compulsivity and loss of behavioural control, which are core symptoms of OCD.

“Although screen time can have important benefits such as education and increased socialisation, parents should be aware of the potential risks, especially to mental health.

“Families can develop a media-use plan that could include screen-free times including before bedtime.”

Researchers found most preteens were watching videos or playing video games for an average of 3.9 hours a day. Use of screens for educational purposes was excluded in the study.

During the two-year follow-up period, 4.4 per cent of preteens had developed new-onset OCD.

Video games and streaming videos were connected to higher risk of developing OCD, although there was no link between texting, video chat and social media.

In July, Dr Nagata and his colleagues discovered excessive screen time was linked to disruptive behaviour disorders in nine to 11-year-olds, with social media being the

‘Intrusive thoughts about video games could develop into compulsions’

biggest contributor. In 2021, they found that adolescent screen time had doubled during the pandemic.

The findings were published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Official data show that in the year 2021-2022, there were more than 23,000 referrals to the NHS in England for OCD, more than twice as many as in 2013-2014 (9,146).

But scientists have warned people not to confuse normal behaviours with OCD traits.

Prof Paul Salkovski, of the University of Oxford, warned that common quirks do not qualify as OCD because they do not significantly affect day-to-day life. He said: “‘I’m a bit OCD’ is universally hated. OCD is diagnosed on the basis of intense distress and significant impairment in social and occupational functioning.”