Problematic Use of the Internet in Subjects With Bipolar Disorder: Relationship With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Abstract

Background: Literature shows a high risk for problematic use of the Internet (PUI) in mood disorders, especially in bipolar disorder (BD). In subjects with BD, traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are related to alcohol or substance use disorder, as well as to gambling disorder. However, little is known about the possible association between traumatic exposure and PUI. The present study was aimed at examining the relationship between PUI and trauma exposure, besides PTSD symptoms, in subjects with BD.Methods: A sample of 113 subjects with BD was screened to putative PUI. Furthermore, they completed the Trauma and Loss Spectrum Self-Report (TALS-SR) to assess traumatic events and posttraumatic stress symptoms.Results: Twenty-four subjects (21.2%) reported putative PUI. Subjects with putative PUI presented significantly higher scores in the TALS-SR domains Potentially Traumatic Events, Re-experiencing, Maladaptive coping, and Arousal, as well as in the TALS-SR total score. In a logistic regression model, a positive association emerged between Potentially Traumatic Events and Arousal TALS-SR domains and putative PUI.Conclusion: One in five patients with BD screened positive for PUI. A significant association between PUI and lifetime traumatic events as well as PTSD symptoms emerged, highlighting the relevance of the comorbidity between PTSD and PUI in subjects with BD.

Suicidality among individuals with gambling problems: A meta-analytic literature review.

“…Similarly, 73 studies assessed the lifetime occurrence of at least one suicide attempt, 12 studies assessed suicide attempt(s) within the past 12 months, and one study (Ladd & Petry, 2003) reported both last month and lifetime occurrence of suicide attempt(s) (see ). Only six studies (Battersby et al, 2006; Carmassi et al, 2020; Hodgins et al, 2006; Maccallum & Blaszczynski, 2003; Morefield et al, 2014; Stefanovics et al, 2022) assessed suicidality using specific and psychometrically tested multi-item instruments of suicidality, while most studies employed either only a single-item measure without prior validation ( k = 46) or items specifically assessing suicidality taken from validated multi-item assessments that included items assessing suicidality, but where this was not the primary outcome/construct ( k = 46). Both studies which reported data on the relationship between gambling problems and suicide (Karlsson & Håkansson, 2018; Pavarin et al, 2021) collected their data by linking patient register data with data from the cause-of-death registries.…”

“…A table summarizing the characteristics and key findings of the individual studies is available in . From the pool of 107 studies, 99 were peer-reviewed research articles, while four studies derived from doctoral theses (Afifi, 2008; Bulcke, 2008; Kaufman, 2002; Lane, 2021), and four (Andronicos et al, 2010; Carmassi et al, 2020; Hashimoto & Nishimura, 2015; Soyata et al, 2015) were conference abstracts. The included studies were published within the time frame of 1987–2023.…”

Bipolar Disorder and Gaming Disorder—Compatible or Incompatible Diagnoses?

“…Carmassi et al [19] screened 113 subjects with BD for IAD alone with traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They found 21.2% of the BD patients had IAD, with those patients reporting a higher number of traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.…”

Validation of the Spanish Version of the Trauma and Loss Spectrum Self-Report (TALS-SR): A Study on Healthcare Workers Facing the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This spectrum-conceptualized instrument has appeared to be useful for a variety of research purpose but also clinical ones, such as accurate psychopathological characterization and earlier identification of even subthreshold cases, treatment selection, assessment of lifetime longitudinal psychopathological trajectories and treatment outcomes, and clinical follow-ups. 13 The TALS-SR has been, in fact, adopted across several studies including not only clinical populations, such as subjects with PTSD, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, prolonged grief disorder, [15][16][17] but also in the general population exposed to mass trauma, 18 rescuers and healthcare workers, 19,20 these latter also in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic. 21 Much evidence of adverse psychological outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported since the infectious outbreak and the TALS-SR have been widely used as a spectrum instrument adopted to assess post-traumatic stress spectrum symptomatology.…”