Current Research and Viewpoints on Internet Addiction in Adolescents

Abstract

Purpose of Review This review describes recent research findings and contemporary viewpoints regarding internet addiction in adolescents including its nomenclature, prevalence, potential determinants, comorbid disorders, and treatment. Recent Findings Prevalence studies show findings that are disparate by location and vary widely by definitions being used. Impulsivity, aggression, and neuroticism potentially predispose youth to internet addiction. Cognitive behavioral therapy and medications that treat commonly co-occurring mental health problems including depression and ADHD hold considerable clinical promise for internet addiction. Summary The inclusion of internet gaming disorder in the DSM-5 and the ICD-11 has prompted considerable work demonstrating the validity of these diagnostic approaches. However, there is also a movement for a conceptualization of the disorder that captures a broader range of media-use behaviors beyond only gaming. Efforts to resolve these approaches are necessary in order to standardize definitions and clinical approaches. Future work should focus on clinical investigations of treatments, especially in the USA, and longitudinal studies of the disorder's etiology.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Internet Addiction among Hungarian High School Students

“…Several scales are available in the detection of this phenomena, such as the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, 20-item Internet Addiction Test (IAT), 18-item Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening Scale (PRIUSS), and the Hungarian-developed Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIU-Q), which are widely used and validated in different languages [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. These tests are more similar than dissimilar, containing identical questions, allowing to focus on the impulsive and risky aspects of internet use [ 13 ]. Some of them have identified diagnostic cutoff values, and a researcher or clinician is likely to be well served by any of them [ 13 ].…”

“…These tests are more similar than dissimilar, containing identical questions, allowing to focus on the impulsive and risky aspects of internet use [ 13 ]. Some of them have identified diagnostic cutoff values, and a researcher or clinician is likely to be well served by any of them [ 13 ]. However, it is worth mentioning that evidence-based diagnostic criteria of problematic internet use are still not developed.…”

“…IA seems to have several risk factors. The most important ones are a younger age at the start of internet use and being male [ 13 , 14 ]. Males have a two- to five-fold increased risk of problematic internet use compared to females, most likely mediated by differences in personality traits (lower self-control, higher impulsivity and sensation seeking) [ 14 , 15 ].…”

“…Family functioning has also a crucial role in the development of IA. Lack of family support (less time with parents, less affection from parents) or poor parent–adolescent relationships, such as child abuse or neglect, and single-parent families are also potentially indicated in the development of IA, whereas parental monitoring can be preventive; fathers especially have an influential role [ 13 , 17 , 18 ]. Online activities such as gaming or social activities may serve an escape from difficult family lives.…”

“…Online activities such as gaming or social activities may serve an escape from difficult family lives. Children and adolescents are motived to be online in part by escapism and the draw of virtual friendships [ 13 ]. Problematic internet use is more common in rural areas and among those with low socioeconomic status [ 19 ].…”