Psychometric Properties of the Problematic Gaming Questionnaire Used to Assess Finnish Adolescents

In recent years, problematic gaming behavior has been a phenomenon of growing interest and in need of further empirical research worldwide. Due to a lack of research into problematic gaming behavior in Finland, this study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ). Data collection was carried out in two junior high schools by using an online survey administered during the school class. A convenience sample of 560 adolescents completed a Finnish version of the POGQ along with the questions relating to socio-demographic and gaming behavior variables. The final analytical sample consisted of 465 gamers (37.2% females). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) demonstrated appropriate psychometric properties for the scale. Inter-item association across subscales of POGQ analyzed by using Cronbach’s alpha appeared to be satisfactory. Moderate positive correlations were found between time spent on games and problematic gaming behavior. The proportion of adolescents exhibiting problematic gaming behavior was 0.9% of the participants. In conclusion, these results demonstrated the suitability of the POGQ, in its Finnish version, for the assessment of problematic gaming behavior among adolescents.