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Validation of the Farsi version of the video-game addiction scale for children: its associations with social media addiction, internet addiction and executive functions

BMC Psychology volume 13, Article number: 449 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

Addiction to video games can negatively affect cognitive and social functioning. We aim to validate the Video Game Addiction Scale for Children (VASC) among Iranian children aged 8–13 in this study. This study confirmed the four-factor structure (self-control, reward, problems, involvement) and demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89) that has significant practical implications. The VASC showed significant correlation with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), indicating its convergent validity. The VASC was negatively correlated with executive function, as measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF).

The study provided a reliable and practical tool for future clinical and research investigations of gaming addiction tendencies in Iranian culture.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

In recent years, video games have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment for children and adolescents [1]. Excessive video game playing is becoming an increasingly serious issue, and it has been classified as a distinct disorder called Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in recent years [2]. Researchers have used various terms to describe gaming addiction, including problematic or addictive digital gaming use [3], video game addiction [4], online game addiction [5, 6], problematic online game use [7], Internet gaming addiction [8], and pathological gaming [9]. Video game addiction involves playing games more often than usual and interacting with other players on the Internet [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. However, gaming addiction can occur both online and offline [13]. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM5-TR), gaming addiction is diagnosed when five or more criteria are met within 12 months. Gamers might experience preoccupation with gaming, withdrawal, tolerance, failure to reduce gaming, loss of interest in other activities, and continued gaming despite negative consequences. Other signs include hiding gaming habits, using games as an escape from negative emotions, and risking relationships or opportunities. Based on its impact on daily life, severity is classified as mild, moderate, or severe [2]. Also, it can be defined as the persistent and repetitive use of the Internet for gaming by dedicating more time than usual, often involving interactions with various players [10, 11, 12].The estimated 12-month prevalence of gaming addiction is 4.7% globally, with individual studies reporting rates between 0.7% and 15.6%. According to DSM-5 criteria, Asian and Western countries have similar prevalence rates, with U.S. surveys estimating rates at 1% or lower. A meta-analysis of 16 international studies found a 4.6% prevalence among adolescents, with higher rates in males (6.8%) compared to females (1.3%) [2]. The prevalence of video game addiction varies significantly between countries: 21.8% in Saudi Arabia [14], 11% in South Korea [15], 14.7% in Taiwan [16], 2.47%, and between 3 and 8.5% in the USA [17]. The Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found that nearly 12% of university students in Ontario showed signs of addiction [18]. A systematic review of 36 studies in China found that the prevalence of video game addiction varied between 3.5% and 17% [19]. The prevalence of video game addiction among children and adolescents varies across countries. For example, in Russia is 10.9% [20], in India is 31.7% [21], in Tunisia is 4.7% [22], in Saudi Arabia is [23], and the average prevalence of gaming addiction in Japanese school-age individuals is around 5.1% (7.6% in males and 2.5% in females) [24] The prevalence of gaming addiction in Iran is 3.7% [25] and ranges from 4.2 to 17% among Iranian children and adolescents [26, 27, 28].

Problematic gamers exhibit similar behaviors to those of traditional addiction disorders, despite the differences in terminology [29]. Accordingly, there is a clear and significant positive correlation between social media addiction and games addiction. As social media addiction increases, game addiction increases and vice versa, highlighting their interconnected nature [30, 31, 32]. In fact, technology addiction encompasses various types of dependencies [33]. Game addiction, like other behavioral addictions, leads to cognitive and behavioral symptoms such as loss of control over gaming, tolerance, and withdrawal [2, 10, 14, 34, 35]. Individuals who are addicted to gaming spend 8–10 h a day playing games instead of attending school, working, or spending time with their families. In order to continue gaming, they sacrifice sleep, food, and responsibilities [2].

In previous studies, gaming (non-addicted) has been shown to reduce stress and foster social connections for socially isolated people [36, 37, 38], improve attention [39, 40], improve visual-spatial skills [39, 41], enhance hand-eye coordination [42, 43], as well as improve executive functions (EFs), including problem-solving [44], and multitasking [45, 46] In addition, video games appear to have positive effects on children’s Efs including working memory [45, 47], problem-solving [48, 49], and attention [50]. EFs enable mentally experimenting with ideas, pausing to think before acting, handling new challenges, resisting temptations, and staying focused. Core EFs include inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility [51]. Video game addiction has been linked to impaired inhibitory control [52, 53, 54], working memory [55, 56, 57], and cognitive flexibility [58, 59, 60]. On the other hand, research has shown that excessive gaming can negatively impact physical health, causing issues like sore fingers, neck aches [61, 62], and an increased risk of obesity [61, 63]. Furthermore, it is associated with poor mental health, including anxiety [23, 64, 65], depression [12, 66, 67], aggression [68, 69], attention problems [55, 70], stress, and anxiety, which affect children and adolescents’ health, family relationships, academic performance, and social interactions [35, 71]. In children and adolescents, gaming addiction has adverse effects on their quality of life [72, 73], social problems like isolation [74, 75, 76], and conflict with family [77, 78]. Children and adolescents suffering from game addiction showed higher levels of obesity [79, 80], reduced sleep quality [81, 82], and vision problems [61, 83]. Research indicates that overuse of similar game types can negatively impact cognitive and academic abilities in school-age children [84, 85], impair memory retention and improvement [55], and contribute to attention challenges [39, 86, 87].

A study of video game addiction has a great deal of importance considering the rapid technological advancements, the large prevalence of the addiction, and its implications for mental, cognitive, and social health. So, several tools have been developed to assess game addiction in adults, such as the Game Addiction Scale (GAS) [88] and the Game Addiction Inventory for Adults (GAIA) [89]. For adolescents and children, tools like the Game Addiction Scale-7 (GAS-7) and the Game Addiction Scale-21 [90], the Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD-20) [91], the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) [92], the Lemmens IGD-9 and Lemmens IGD-27 [93], and the Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A) [94] was designed. A number of these tools have been validated among Iranian children and adolescents, including the GAS-21 [95], the GAS-7 [96], the IGDS-SF9 [97], and the Gaming Disorder Scale for Adolescents (GADIS-A) [26]. The questionnaires that have been validated in Iran do not cover the age range of 8 to 13. Yilmaz (2017) developed the Video Game Addiction Scale for Children (VASC) in order to assess video game addiction in children in the Turkish culture, which has good psychometric properties. With 21 items, the VASC assesses four dimensions of video game addiction: self-control, reward, problems, and involvement [98]. According to this scale, a score higher than 90 indicates potential video game addiction. It is important to emphasize that this is only an indicator and not a diagnostic tool [98]. In this study, the VASC will be assessed for the first time in Iranian children to ensure its validity and reliability. Since there are few valid tools for investigating gaming addiction in Iranian children and adolescents in the 8–13 age group, a valid scale that can be used to assess gaming addiction in this age group is essential. This scale can be used to further research in the field of game addiction among Iranian children and adolescents and to improve our understanding. We will test the following hypotheses:

H1: Video game addiction is positively correlated with internet addiction.

H2: Video game addiction has a positive association with social media addiction.

H3: Video game addiction is negatively correlated with executive functions.

Method

Participants

In this cross-sectional study, 324 children aged 8 to 13 were selected through convenience sampling from Iran from July to September 2024. Inclusion criteria included typically developing children aged 8–13 with basic reading and writing skills. The survey was administered online. After all students’ parents agreed, we sent the link to school groups. In this study, participants voluntarily participated, and the questionnaire was administered anonymously.

Measures

Video-game addiction scale for children (VASC)

The VASC, developed by Yilmaz in 2017, was used to assess video game addiction among these individuals [98]. The VASC measures four factors of video game addiction: self-control, rewards, problems, and involvement on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 (always). A total score can range from 21 to 105, with a cutoff score of 90, meaning a score above 90 indicates a risk of video game addiction. The scale cannot be used to make a formal diagnosis; a clinical assessment is required. The scale and its subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha values as follows: VASC = 0.89, self-control = 0.84, reward/reinforcement = 0.83, problems = 0.75, and involvement = 0.73. Item-total correlations for the 21 items ranged from 0.483 to 0.862, indicating intense item discrimination. The four factors accounted for 55.7% of the total variance, and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.91 confirmed sampling adequacy [98].

Behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF)

We assessed the participant’s executive functioning using the BRIEF [99]. The BRIEF is a 55-item questionnaire designed for individuals aged 11 to 18, assessing three main indices and seven subscales on a Likert scale from 0 to 2. These indices measure behavioral regulation, emotional regulation, and cognitive regulation. There are two subscales of behavioral regulation index: inhibition and self-monitoring. An inhibition item would be " I have difficulty staying seated and remaining still”, while a self-monitoring item would be " I do not know how my behavior affects or bothers others”. The emotional regulation index measures shifting and emotional control, while the cognitive regulation index measures working memory, planning, and organization. Higher scores indicate poor executive functioning. The standard t-score of 60 to 64 indicates a mild deficit, 65 to 69 a moderate deficit, and 70 or higher indicates a clinically significant deficit [99]. The internal consistency of the BRIEF ranged from 0.84 to 0.97. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the indices and composite scores were also reported to be within 0.84 and 0.97. This scale was validated in the Iranian population by Beyrami et al. [100]. Based on Cronbach’s alpha, the internal consistency for the overall scale was 0.93, with indices ranging from 0.70 to 0.90 and component scores between 0.60 and 0.80.

Internet addiction test (IAT)

The IAT was developed by Young [101]. This questionnaire contains 20 items rated on a Likert scale from 1 (rarely) to 5 (always), with scores ranging from 20 to 100. A higher score indicates a greater addiction to the internet. Scores between 20 and 49 indicate no internet addiction, scores between 50 and 79 indicate a risk of addiction, and scores between 80 and 100 indicate internet addiction [101, 102, 103]. Some items on this scale include: item 1: “How often do you stay online longer than you intended?” and item 11: “How often do you go back online sooner than you intended?” The Farsi version of this scale has also been utilized in Iran, with reliability confirmed by Nasti Zayi et al. 0.81, and by Ghasemzadeh et al. 0.88 [104]. Higher scores indicate greater internet addiction [124].

Bergen social media addiction scale (BSMAS)

The BSMAS is a 6-item scale used to assess addiction to social media platforms [105]. This scale is scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (very rarely) to 5 (very often). Higher scores indicate greater dependence on social media platforms. Items one to six of this scale measure the components of salience, tolerance/search, mood modification, relapse, withdrawal, and conflict, respectively. Items such as “Have you spent a lot of time thinking about social media platforms or planning how to use them?” (salience) and “Have you felt a strong urge to use social media platforms more and more?” (tolerance/search). Previous studies have established a cutoff score of 24 to differentiate between individuals with and without social media addiction disorders [106, 107]. The psychometric properties of this questionnaire demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86) in an Iranian adolescent sample [108].

Procedure

The research consisted of two phases. We translated the questionnaire into Farsi in the first phase, adapted it to the language and culture, and then back-translated it to ensure accuracy. To clarify our process, we translated the content into Farsi first. Our translation expert then retranslated it back into English. Lastly, the authors collaborated with the translator to finalize the questionnaire, reaching an agreement on the final draft.

Participants provided informed consent. Additionally, permission was granted by the author of the VASC to use its questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled out by 324 participants, including 256 boys and 68 girls. The exclusion criteria included individuals who were outside the specified age range, those without normal reading and writing abilities, and individuals with a history of specific medical conditions. Participants who did not provide complete answers were automatically disregarded and excluded. We used social media platforms to share questionnaires and collect data. We assessed the VASC’s psychometric properties in the second phase. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Tarbiat Modares University (Approval ID: IR.MODARES.REC.1402.099).

Statistical analysis

The IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Inc., Armonk, USA) was used to analyze demographic characteristic and calculate correlation between the VASC with the IAT, and the BSMAS. In addition, the confirmatory model Factor Analysis (CFA) was used. The internal consistency of the VASC was measured using Cronbach’s alpha McDonald’s omega, and Guttman’s lambda coefficient test. In addition, a multiple regression analysis was used to predict aggression by the components of executive dysfunctions and demographic characteristic.

Result

The study used an available sampling method and included 324 Iranian children. Table 1 illustrates that most participants were males (N = 256, 79%) and females (N = 68, 21%).

Table 1 Participant sociodemographic features
Full size table

Factor structure

Factor loadings for all VASC items were statistically significant (P < 0.001), and findings demonstrated standardized estimates for all items of VASC were over 0.50, except item 1, which was 0.24, so omitted (Table 2). Investigating the fitness of the present model showed that the model fits well with the data, and findings support the four-factor model (Table 2; Fig. 1).

Table 2 Descriptive statistic indices for items of the VASC
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Table 2 shows descriptive statistics of the VASC-related items. The mean score was 2.56 (SD = 1.33), and all 21 items exhibited means in the 1.82–3.64 range. Skewness and kurtosis were between ± 3, which indicates the existence of the normality assumption of the data. (see details in Table 2).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Model fit indexes of the Farsi version of the VASC. (a); Model fit indexes of the VASC before modification, (b); Model fit after modification

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Table 3 Participant sociodemographic features
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Based on the literature, the four-factor model was tested through CFA; the model provided a marginal fit to the data. The CFA findings for a four-factor structure are illustrated in Table 1. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) coefficient was found to be 0.91, indicating the adequacy of the sample size for factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis displayed that the four-factor structure provided an excellent fit to the data: sbX2 = 340.94 (P < 0.01); SRMR = 0.058; CFI = 0.97; NFI = 0.95; IFI = 0.97; NFI = 0.95; GFI = 0.90; AGFI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.058. These results showed that all standardized factor loadings for all items were statistically significant (p < 0.01), supporting each item as adequately as each component. Factor loading for the VASC items ranged from 0.24 to 0.80 (Table 2). As shown in Table 2; Fig. 1, all items of loads show a significant factor and standardized factor loading for all items over 0.50 except item 12 (factor loading = 0.47) and item 1 (factor loading = 0.24). The factor loading for each item should be at least over 0.40, so question 1 was deleted.

The study suggests that Iranian children may be addicted to video games if their score is above 85. It should be noted that this is not a diagnostic measure but only an indication that a child might be addicted to video games. Such a diagnosis would only be possible with an in-depth clinical evaluation.

Internal consistency reliability

Internal consistency reliability was investigated using data from the main study and based on the Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and Guttman’s lambda coefficient test, in which Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and Guttman’s lambda coefficient for the Farsi Version of VASC was measured 0.89, 0.90 and 0.79 that indicate good internal reliability (Table 3).

Table 4 Internal consistency reliability of the VASC
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Convergent validity

The person correlations acquired between the Farsi version of the VASC, the IAT, and the BSMAS indicate acceptable convergent validity (Table 4).

Table 5 Correlations between the VASC with the IAT, the BSMAS and EFs
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The findings of Table 4 demonstrate the relationship among components of VASC with other psychological variables in participants, in which there was a significant positive relationship between the total score of VASC with Internet Addiction (r = 0.58, P < 0.001) and BSMAS (r = 0.37, P < 0.01). In other words, Findings demonstrated acceptable convergent validity for the Farsi version of VASC.

Also, our findings displayed the relationship between VASC and executive dysfunctions; there was a negative relationship between VASC with Behavioural dysregulation (r=-0.61, P < 0.001), emotional (r=-0.63, P < 0.001) and cognitive dysregulation (r=-0.62, P < 0.001) (see more details in Table 4).

A step-wise multiple linear regression was calculated to predict game addiction based on components of executive dysfunctions and demographic variables [F (6, 317) = 51.94, P < 0.001], with R2 of 0.49. The predictive variables, including plan/organize (B = − 0.939, t= -3.81, P < 0.001), emotional control (B = − 0.88, t= -2.95, P < 0.001), self-monitor (B= -1.04, t= -2.67, p < 0.01), shifting (B = − 0.89, t= -2.83, P < 0.01), age (B= -1.71, t= -3.95, P < 0.01), and gender (B= -5.13, t= -3.15, P < 0.01) had significant prediction effects on adjusted index of the video-game addiction (Table 5).

Table 6 Multiple regression analysis for predicting video-game addiction by components of executive dysfunctions and demographic variables
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Discussion

The aim of this study was to validate the Farsi version of VASC among Iranian children, assessing its reliability, validity, and factor structure to ensure its suitability for use in Iranian contexts. According to the findings, the VASC is a reliable and valid measure of video game addiction in Iranian children.

The Farsi version of VASC has a four-factor structure similar to the original scale, including self-control, reward, problem, and involvement. A factor loading of above 0.40 was observed for all items except item 1, confirming the robustness of the structure. The four-factor model shows good model fit indices, which indicates that the model fits the data. The factor structures of this questionnaire align with previous studies, such as those by Yilmaz et al. [98] reported that the four-factor model fits well and confirms the dimensional structure. The VASC has been shown to have an acceptable factor structure in another study conducted in Italy [109]. According to these results, the factor structure of the questionnaire is well replicated across studies, supporting its stability and validity in assessing video game addiction across cultures.

The Farsi version of the VASC’s internal consistency demonstrated that the items consistently measure the intended constructs. A study that developed the VASC reported a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89 [98]. The Cronbach’s alpha for all subscales was reported to be > 0.70 in another study [109]. Our results indicate that the Farsi version of the VASC has good internal consistency.

A significant positive correlation was found between the VASC and Internet and social media addiction. In other words, the higher the level of video game addiction, the greater the likelihood of Internet and social media addiction. There has been some evidence to suggest that video game addiction correlates positively with internet addiction [4, 110]. It is important to note that internet addiction and video game addiction are distinct addiction types [13, 111]. While they differ in their symptoms, they share similar effects such as reduced sleep duration, physical and mental declines, and even suicidal thoughts [111]. The correlation between social media addiction and game addiction is positive, meaning that as social media addiction intensifies, game addiction increases, and the reverse is also true [30, 31, 32]. Additionally, numerous studies have linked gaming and social media to adverse health outcomes [112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117]. Our findings are consistent with previous studies, highlighting that the Farsi version of the VASC demonstrates strong convergent validity. In line with previous studies, we found that the Farsi version of the VASC has strong convergent validity. According to a significant positive correlation between VASC scores and video game addiction and Internet addiction, video game addicts are more likely to experience other behavioral addictions.

We also found that the VASC’s total score was negatively correlated with the participants’ executive functions. Accordingly, higher levels of video game addiction result in lower levels of executive function in individuals. Research has shown that individuals with game addiction have lower levels of selective and complex attention, inhibition, set-shifting, and impulse control [118]. The results of recent research indicate that video game addiction negatively affects core EFs, including inhibitory control [52, 53, 54], working memory [55, 56, 57], and cognitive flexibility [58, 59, 60]. Several studies have shown that video game addiction affects students’ self-regulation [119, 120, 121] and negatively impacts their emotion regulation [122, 123] and planning [124, 125]. Due to the importance of EFs, such as planning, inhibition, and emotion regulation for social life, and the fact that deficits in these areas can harm personal and social performance, excessive gaming can negatively impact individuals’ lives. The findings we report are consistent with previous studies suggesting that video game addiction leads to a decline in executive function. However, we know this relationship is not necessarily cause-effect and is bidirectional.

Limitation

This study has some limitations, including the fact that the sample mainly consisted of males, while gaming addiction can differ between the two genders. We recommend that future studies include both male and female to examine potential gender differences. The self-reporting nature of the scale is another limitation of the study, where in such conditions, individuals may rate their positive and negative behaviors in an unrealistic manner, which could lead to bias in the obtained results. A future study could examine this tool’s accuracy, validity, and reliability in comparison to clinician-rated tools. Although the sample size of 324 participants is relatively large, it may still not be sufficient to conduct detailed subgroup analyses, particularly by age or gender. The study’s focus on children aged 8–13 also limits its generalizability to younger or older age groups, who may exhibit different patterns of gaming behavior. We suggest that future studies examine the psychometric properties of the VASC in a larger sample size to investigate differences between different age groups. While the scale demonstrates strong internal consistency, further validation across diverse populations and settings is necessary to confirm its reliability and applicability. The cross-sectional design of the study restricts its ability to assess the long-term effects of gaming addiction, and confounding factors such as socioeconomic status, parental involvement, and pre-existing mental health conditions were not adequately controlled for, potentially influencing the outcomes. The study does not consider the context of gaming (e.g., social vs. solitary), which could significantly impact addiction levels and cognitive outcomes. We recommend future researchers examine the impact of game context and genre, along with game duration, on children’s mental health and cognitive functioning. Since this is a research tool, clinical use is not recommended, as more clinical studies are needed. Further research is needed in order to evaluate the psychometric properties of the VASC in other cultures.

Conclusion

The current study demonstrated that the VASC is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the potential risk of children’s gaming addiction in Iran, and researchers in this field can use it. This scale fills an important gap in research by providing a culturally relevant tool for identifying gaming addiction tendencies in Iranian children, with potential applications for research settings.

Data availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to all the participants in this study. Our sincere thanks go out to the Iran National Science Foundation (project no. 4024668).

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

    Nima Rabiei, Saeid Sadeghi & Nahal Ranaei

  2. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

    Nikzad Ghanbari

Authors
  1. Nima Rabiei
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  2. Saeid Sadeghi
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  3. Nahal Ranaei
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  4. Nikzad Ghanbari
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Contributions

NR: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing– original draft, Writing– review & editing. SS: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing– original draft, Writing– review & editing. NR: Data curation, Project administration, Resources, Software, Writing– original draft, Writing– review & editing. NG: Formal analysis, Writing– original draft, Writing– review & editing. All authors checked, interpreted results and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saeid Sadeghi.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. Ethical approval had been provided by all procedures and was approved by the Research Ethics Committees of Tarbiat Modares University (Approval ID: IR.MODARES.REC.1402.099). At the beginning of the study, participants were asked to verify that they had read the consent form carefully and signed it to ensure informed consent was obtained. The questionnaire survey was filled out voluntarily by all participants. Data anonymization was also used to protect participants’ privacy.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Rabiei, N., Sadeghi, S., Ranaei, N. et al. Validation of the Farsi version of the video-game addiction scale for children: its associations with social media addiction, internet addiction and executive functions. BMC Psychol 13, 449 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02792-z

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Keywords

BMC Psychology

ISSN: 2050-7283

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