Inconclusive prospective impact of internet gaming disorder on anxiety: A simulated reanalysis and comment on Meng et al. (2024)

Based on findings from analyses with cross-lagged panel models, Meng et al. (2024) concluded that internet gaming disorder (IGD) can increase symptoms of anxiety. Here, we simulated data to resemble the data used by Meng et al. We used triangulation and fitted complementary models to the simulated data and found contradicting increasing and decreasing effects of initial IGD on subsequent change in anxiety symptoms. These divergent findings suggest that it is premature to assume an increasing effect of IGD on anxiety and the conclusion by Meng et al. in this regard can be challenged. It is important for researchers to be aware that correlations, including adjusted cross-lagged effects, do not prove causality in order not to overinterpret findings, something that appears to have happened to Meng et al. We recommend researchers to triangulate by fitting complementary models to their data in order to evaluate if observed effects may be due to true causal effect or if they appear to be spurious.