Temporal distortion may mediate the association between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting: an experimental study

Huang, D-I, Chou, T-H, Huang, C-C, Chang, Y-H, Huang, C-L, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524 and Potenza, MN, 2025. Temporal distortion may mediate the association between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting: an experimental study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions. ISSN 2062-5871

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Abstract

Background: Impulsivity and delay discounting are considered core components of addiction and are increasingly associated with problematic mobile gaming. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Emerging evidence suggests that altered time perception may contribute to impulsive decision-making in addictive behaviors. Therefore, the present study compared differences in time perception and delay discounting between problematic and non-problematic mobile gamers, and explored the mediating roles of impulsivity and time perception.

Methods: A total of 98 participants were recruited via an online platform and completed a battery of assessments, including the Problematic Mobile Gaming Questionnaire (PMGQ), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), a time perception task, and a Delay Discounting Task (DDT). Participants were categorized into two groups: problematic mobile gamers (PMGs; n = 21) and non-problematic mobile gamers (NPMGs; n = 77).

Results: Compared to NPMGs, PMGs showed significantly higher levels of impulsivity, delay discounting (k), and a relative error rate of time perception in 60 s (Rer60). A parallel mediation analysis showed that PMGQ score significantly predicted BIS-11 and Rer60 (β = .44 and .41, p < .001). Rer60 marginally predicted delay discounting rate (β = .18, p = .09), whereas the BIS-11 score did not. The total indirect effect was significant (β = .01, 95% CI [.0018, .0148]), with Rer60 emerging as the primary mediator.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that time perception distortion, rather than impulsivity, mediates the association between problematic mobile gaming and delay discounting.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Creators:	Huang, D.-I., Chou, T.-H., Huang, C.-C., Chang, Y.-H., Huang, C.-L., Griffiths, M.D. and Potenza, M.N.
Publisher:	Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
Date:	24 November 2025
ISSN:	2062-5871
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1556/2006.2025.00092 DOI 2537668 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	26 Nov 2025 11:37
Last Modified:	26 Nov 2025 11:37
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54812

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