Abstract

This study aims to examine whether the effects of participating in the gaming addiction prevention program persists and to investigate whether close friend’s gaming influences gaming addiction in young adults. In total, 638 individuals (average age = 22.3±2.57 years) completed an online survey including items on the experience of participating in the gaming addiction prevention program in schools, and close peers’ gaming, and the gaming addiction scale (GAS). The scores of the GAS of the participants in the prevention program were significantly lower than those of the non-participants only in women, indicating long-term effects of the school-based prevention program. In men and women, individuals who reported that their close peers played games had significantly higher scores of the GAS than those who did not, indicating significant influences of close friends’ game use on gaming addiction in young adults. These results provide implications for the development of gaming addiction prevention programs.