The mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between UPPS-P impulsivity traits and gaming disorder among Asia-Pacific young adults

Abstract Background Little evidence is available to verify the mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between gaming disorder and various impulsivity traits. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the association between the five UPPS-P impulsivity traits and the risk of gaming disorder among young adults. Methods It was an inter-regional cross-sectional study using online survey in Australia, Japan, The Philippines and China. Impulsivity measured by the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale–Short version; dispositional mindfulness measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale; and the risk of gaming disorder measured by the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale were collected in the focal regions. Structural equation modeling was performed by SPSS AMOS version 26 to verify the study hypotheses. Bootstrapped 95% confidence interval was reported. Statistical significance was indicated by the p-value below 0.05. Results Among the 1,134 returned questionnaires, about 40% of them aged 18–20 years and 21–23 years, respectively. 53.8% were male. 40.7% had been playing digital and video games for over 10 years. The prevalence of gaming disorder was 4.32%. The model fitness indices reflected that the constructed model had an acceptable model fit (χ2(118) = 558.994, p