The tug-of-war between engagement and dysregulation: A comprehensive analysis of cognition and internet gaming disorder in adolescents

Research on video games faces a paradox. Many epidemiological studies have documented developmental harms; however, experimental research often highlights cognitive benefits. We theorize that this discrepancy stems from a common tendency to conflate high behavioral engagement (time spent) and dysregulation. Utilizing structural equation modelling, we simultaneously examined the independent associations of both Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD, dysregulation) and average daily gaming time (engagement) with a comprehensive, psychometrically validated test battery of cognitive and motor assessments in a substantial adolescent sample (N = 3,854, age 12–16 years). Although IGD and gaming time shared notable variance (r = .59), they exhibited independent, opposing associations with cognitive performance. Specifically, IGD was consistently associated with lower performance across cognitive tests whereas gaming time was positively related to multiple cognitive domains, including visual-spatial and reasoning skills. At the genre level, Strategy and Role-playing games were associated with better reasoning and verbal skills, whereas Shooters were strongly associated with IGD severity. Further analysis of favorite game titles also revealed heterogeneity within genres, suggesting that cognitive correlates are linked to specific in-game mechanics (e.g., complex planning) rather than the overall genre. Overall, the findings support the conclusion that the negative associations between gaming and cognitive ability reflect a dysregulated state rather than dose, while specific positive associations depend on the mechanics of the title played.