Autism Spectrum Disorder and Video Games: Restricted Interests or Addiction?

Abstract

High rates of video game use in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have often been reported. This might suggest more prevalent video gaming addiction in this population, but elevated video game use could also be explained by restricted interest in video games. We thus reviewed the literature on video game use in ASD to examine the role of vulnerability for video game addiction and the role of restricted interest in video gaming. We conducted a search following PRISMA guidelines. From 511 papers, 15 were included. This review demonstrates that the high rates of video game use in boys and young males with ASD without intellectual disabilities can be predominantly explained by gaming addiction. However, an effect of restricted interest in video games cannot be excluded. Moreover, addictive process and restricted interest may interact. This result raises several issues for differentiating between video game addiction and restricted interest in regard to assessment, overlapping characteristics and interventions. Based on the results, we make recommendations for caregivers and clinicians on the management of problematic video game use in ASD.