Internet addiction and self‐evaluated attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder traits among Japanese college students

Abstract

Aim Internet addiction (IA), also referred to as Internet use disorder, is a serious problem all over the world, especially in Asian countries. Severe IA in students may be linked to academic failure, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and forms of social withdrawal, such as hikikomori. In this study, we performed a survey to investigate the relation between IA and ADHD symptoms among college students. Methods Severity of IA and ADHD traits was assessed by self-report scales. Subjects were 403 college students (response rate 78%) who completed a questionnaire including Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale–V1.1. Results Out of 403 subjects, 165 were male. The mean age was 18.4 ± 1.2 years, and mean total IAT score was 45.2 ± 12.6. One hundred forty-eight respondents (36.7%) were average Internet users (IAT < 40), 240 (59.6%) had possible addiction (IAT 40–69), and 15 (3.7%) had severe addiction (IAT ≥ 70). Mean length of Internet use was 4.1 ± 2.8 h/day on weekdays and 5.9 ± 3.7 h/day on the weekend. Females used the Internet mainly for social networking services while males preferred online games. Students with a positive ADHD screen scored significantly higher on the IAT than those negative for ADHD screen (50.2 ± 12.9 vs 43.3 ± 12.0). Conclusion Our results suggest that Internet misuse may be related to ADHD traits among Japanese youth. Further investigation of the links between IA and ADHD is warranted.

Associations between problematic Internet use and psychiatric symptoms among university students in Japan

“…We adopted an IAT cut‐off score of 40, and we consider our results to be similar to those of other countries’ university students. Another study from Japan that targeted university students found PIU prevalence to be as high as 63.5% . This is presumably because the study recruited subjects via social networking services (SNS) in a single city, and therefore selection bias may have existed.…”

“…Fifth, the IAT was developed about two decades ago under conditions where Internet access was limited, and therefore the cut‐off values of IAT 40 might be inappropriate to define ‘problematic’ Internet use now. As the IAT includes questions regarding dysfunctionality associated with Internet use (such as ‘How often do your job performance or productivity suffer because of the internet?’), we considered IAT to still be usable today, in addition to the fact that many studies to date have used the scale . However, we believe that the invention of a new scale to better fit modern Internet use is required in the near future.…”

“…You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.’). In this study, we defined subjects with an IAT ≥ 40 as the PIU group and those with an IAT ≤ 39 as the non‐PIU group, as similarly defined in some previous studies …”

“…The previous studies, except So et al . and Tateno et al ., lacked data regarding the relation between PIU and psychiatric diseases. As data regarding Japanese young adults is still insufficient, and there is a lack of studies that track the relation between PIU and multiple psychiatric symptoms in this specific population, we decided to conduct a survey targeting Japanese university students.…”

“…In addition, PIU was found even more often in young adults, such as university students. For example, the prevalence was 36.9% in Malaysian medical students, 16.8% in American medical students, 25.1% in American public university students, 40.7% in Iranian university students, and 63.5% in Japanese university students …”