Personality Disorders in Female and Male College Students With Internet Addiction

Abstract

A high rate of personality disorders (PDs) was found in individuals with Internet addiction (IA) in previous studies using clinical and limited sample sizes. The present study further made comparisons between sex and incorporated a control group to compare the frequencies of PD between individuals with IA and those without IA. Five hundred fifty-six college students (341 females) completed self-report surveys and were later given diagnostic interviews to assess for a PD diagnosis. Males with IA showed a higher frequency of narcissistic PD, whereas females with IA showed a higher frequency of borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, or dependent PD when compared with those without IA. The high rate of PD among Internet addicts may be associated with the core features of specific PD psychopathology. Sex differences in the PD frequencies among IA individuals provide indications for understanding the psychopathological characteristics of PDs in Internet addicts.

The association between Internet addiction and personality disorders in a general population-based sample

“…Altogether, our findings are roughly in line with those found on the co-occurrence of IA and personality disorders in Taiwanese students (Wu et al., 2016). Similar to that study, we observed higher frequencies of Cluster B and Cluster C personality disorders in the IA group compared to the non-addicted group.…”

“…However, these three studies implicate conspicuous methodological limitations with samples consisting of a very few outpatients and moreover clinical subgroups. Another one issued a large sample consisting of 556 participants and focused on the association of IA and personality disorders with stratifying analyses by gender (Wu, Ko, & Lane, 2016). This study found higher rates of personality disorders in the group with IA (27.4%) than in the group without IA (13.9%; p  < .01).…”

“…(b) Because of the association between IA and low self-esteem (Ko et al., 2012; van der Aa et al., 2009), participants with IA have more often Cluster C personality disorders, covering anxious and fearful personality disorders such as avoidant, dependent, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorders. Because of the association between IA and high impulsiveness found in other studies (Gentile et al., 2011; Rehbein & Mößle, 2012; Rehbein, Kleimann, & Mössle, 2010), participants with IA have more often Cluster B personality disorders, covering dramatic and emotional personality disorders such as antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders (cf., Wu et al., 2016). Due to the ability to dose the social contact via online communication referring to the level of intimacy just as much as one would like, participants with IA show Cluster A personality disorders, covering eccentric personality disorders such as paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders.…”

“…(e) Finally, we will analyze the role of factors such as ADHD, impulsivity, and self-esteem to validate the association between IA and personality disorders, as suggested by Wu et al. (2016). Based on the characteristics of specific clusters, it might be suggested that individuals with Cluster B personality disorders develop IA due to impulsivity and Cluster C personality disorders develop IA due to low self-esteem.…”

Investigation on Internet addiction disorder in adolescents in Anhui, People&rsquo;s Republic of China

“…Some researchers found that IAD is associated with personality,6–8 self-esteem,9,10 social support,9 suicide ideation, disordered eating attitudes,11 defense styles,12 depressive symptoms,3 physiological 6. Although official diagnostic criteria do not exist, IA can be defined as the excessive, obsessive–compulsive, uncontrollable, use of Internet, which also causes significant distress and impairments in daily functioning 13.…”