Electronic Media Use and Addiction among Youth in Psychiatric Clinic versus School Populations

Abstract

Objective: Electronic media use is highly prevalent among today's youth, and its overuse in the general population has been consistently associated with the presence of psychiatric symptoms. In contrast, little information exists about electronic media use among youth with psychiatric disorders. Our study aims to compare patterns of television and computer and gaming station use among youth in psychiatric clinic and community-based school populations.Method: Surveys were completed by 210 youth and parents, from school (n = 110) and psychiatric clinic (n = 100) populations. Duration and frequency of television, video gaming, and nongaming computer activities were ascertained, along with addictive features of use. Descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted, with a statistical threshold of P < 0.05. Results:Quantitative and qualitative differences were identified between the patterns of use reported by the 2 groups. The mean reported daily duration of exposure to electronic media use was 6.6 hours (SD 4.1) for the clinic sample and 4.6 hours (SD 2.6) for the school sample (P < 0.01). Self-reported rates of addictive patterns related to computer and gaming station use were similar between the 2 populations. However, the clinically based sample favoured more violent games, with 29% reporting playing mature-rated games, compared with 13% reported by the school-based sample (P = 0.02). Youth with externalizing disorders expended greater time video gaming, compared with youth with internalizing disorders (P = 0.01). Conclusions:Clinically based samples of youth with mental illnesses spend more time engaged in electronic media activities and are more likely to play violent video games, compared with youth in the general population. Further research is needed to determine the long-term implications of these differences. W W WObjectif : L'utilisation des médias électroniques est hautement prévalente chez les adolescents d'aujourd'hui, et leur surutilisation dans la population générale est régulièrement associée à la présence de symptômes psychiatriques. Par contre, il existe peu d'information sur l'utilisation des médias électroniques chez les adolescents souffrant de troubles psychiatriques. Notre étude vise à comparer les modèles d'utilisation de la télévision, de l'ordinateur et des sites de jeux vidéo chez les adolescents dans les cliniques psychiatriques et dans les populations scolaires communautaires.Méthode : Des sondages ont été remplis par 210 adolescents et parents, dans les populations scolaires (n = 110) et des cliniques psychiatriques (n = 100). La durée et la fréquence des activités liées à la télévision, aux jeux vidéo et autres à l'ordinateur ont été estimées, ainsi que les caractéristiques de la dépendance à l'utilisation. Des analyses descriptives et comparatives ont été menées, dont le seuil statistique est de P < 0,05.

Pattern of video game use in children with attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder and typical development

“…In the present study, longer hours spent on video game playing, particularly on the weekdays, and greater problematic video game use were observed in those with ADHD compared with controls. The finding of increased duration of video game playing in the ADHD group compared with typically developing children is in agreement with a study by Baer et al ., whereas a higher rate of problematic video game use in those with ADHD is in accordance with previous studies . Previous research on this topic has usually documented one or other of the aforementioned findings, but not both, given in the present study.…”

“…Likewise, the prevalence of problematic gaming in the present controls was consistent with many population‐based cohorts in other countries . Although there was a higher male‐to‐female ratio in the present ADHD group, the hours of video game playing, especially on weekdays, and the rate of problematic game use in the ADHD group, were far more increased than in age‐matched children with typical development in the aforementioned studies, suggesting an elevated risk for game addiction in individuals with ADHD, as seen in previous studies . One might argue, however, that this may simply be due to the fact that there were more boys in the ADHD group.…”

“…2,3,[20][21][22][23] Although there was a higher male-to-female ratio in the present ADHD group, the hours of video game playing, especially on weekdays, and the rate of problematic game use in the ADHD group, were far more increased than in age-matched children with typical development in the aforementioned studies, suggesting an elevated risk for game addiction in individuals with ADHD, as seen in previous studies. 1,5,9,11,14,24 One might argue, however, that this may simply be due to the fact that there were more boys in the ADHD group. Moreover, to some degree, gender and ADHD may not be separable, given that there might be an interaction between gender, ADHD, and video game playing.…”

“…Moreover, severity of problematic online gaming symptoms was noted to be decreased by methylphenidate or atomoxetine, Food and Drug Administration‐approved medication in individuals with ADHD . Conversely, another separate study found the opposite: longer hours spent on electronic media, including video gaming, was observed in the psychiatric clinic population, particularly those with ADHD compared with their counterparts, but there was no significant difference in game addiction between these two groups . This particular finding may be explained by another study in which children with ADHD had similar video game performance compared with healthy controls, although those with ADHD performed worse on the attention task …”

Computer/gaming station use in youth: Correlations among use, addiction and functional impairment

“…This result is similar to findings from other general population studies (35)(36)(37) and is significantly less than the approximately 7 h of screen time per day found in youth presenting to psychiatric clinics (24,38). However, it is more than double the 2 h/day limit suggested by American and Canadian guidelines (39,40).…”