Traits associated with internet addiction in young adults: Potential risk factors

Abstract

The present study sought to determine whether certain personality traits associated with problematic substance use may also characterize young adults who report problematic internet use. An index of internet addiction as well as measures of traits previously linked to problematic substance use were administered to a sample of 86 young adults aged 18–30 years. Measures included the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS). Results indicated that IAT scores were significantly positively correlated with TAS-20, DASS-21, SPSRQ and FIS scores, as predicted. When age, gender and negative mood were controlled in a hierarchical regression, sensitivity to punishment (SP), sensitivity to reward (SR) and FIS significantly contributed to variance in IAT in the final model. SP partially mediated the relationship between TAS-20 and IAT, whereas no such mediation was indicated for SR or FIS. Present findings suggest that alexithymia and reward sensitivity may be important risk factors for internet addiction as for problematic substance use, whereas sensitivity to punishment may account for at least part of the association between alexithymia and problematic use of the internet.

Disordered social media use and risky drinking in young adults: Differential associations with addiction‐linked traits

“…Generalisability of the present findings may nevertheless be questioned. TAS‐20 alexithymia scores were unusually high in this Australian sample compared to what has been reported for the general adult population in other countries (e.g., Mattila, Salminen, Nummi, & Joukamaa, ); however, as Qualtrics recruits people online, the sample may have been somewhat biased towards those who spend relatively more of their time online—as highly alexithymic individuals have been reported to do (e.g., Lyvers et al, )—hence, the relatively high overall scores on this trait. AUDIT scores were also high, with the mean score at a level indicative of hazardous drinking (Saunders et al, ), but such scores may be typical for young Australian adults, especially men (e.g., Bowring, Gouillou, Hellard, & Dietze, ).…”

“…These associations are typically interpreted by researchers as reflecting use of different means to enhance or reinforce narcissistic feelings of superiority and grandiosity. As mentioned earlier, research has indicated that several other traits are similarly elevated in those with behavioural addictions as in those with substance abuse or addiction, including rash impulsiveness, reward sensitivity, and alexithymia (Kandri et al, ; Lyvers et al, ). Dawe et al () differentiated between reward sensitivity and rash impulsiveness in terms of purported roles as predisposing factors in substance misuse, with the former promoting onset of use and the latter maintaining compulsive use in addiction.…”

“…For example, comorbidity of pathological gambling with substance addictions has been attributed to high trait impulsivity (Petry, ). Further, those identified as having Internet addiction are reported to show elevated levels of several traits that are similarly elevated in those with substance abuse or addiction (e.g., Kandri, Bonotis, Floros, & Zafiropoulou, ; Lyvers, Karantonis, Edwards, & Thorberg, ; Mahapatra & Sharma, ). Such traits include rash impulsiveness, or acting without appropriate consideration of consequences (Spinella, ); reward sensitivity, or the degree to which behaviour is motivated by the prospect of access to positive reinforcers (Dawe, Gullo, & Loxton, ); and alexithymia, a trait characterised by difficulties in identifying and verbalising the emotional feelings of self and others, as well as an overly concrete or externalised cognitive style (Preece, Becerra, Allan, Robinson, & Dandy, ).…”

A Discriminant Analysis to Predict the Impact of Personality Traits, Self-esteem, and Time Spent Online on Different Levels of Internet Addiction Risk among University Students

“…The classification of Internet addiction as a behavioral disorder remains a controversial matter. It has been described as an individual's uncontrollable and compulsive use of the Internet, which negatively affects academic and job performances, reduces sleep and hygiene quality, and leads to reduced interpersonal social relationships (Lyvers, Karantonis, Edwards, & Thorberg, 2016;Sahraian, Hedayati, Mani, & Hedayati, 2016;Young, 2015;Zhang et al, 2015). Furthermore, the conceptual model of Internet addiction incorporates tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, salience, conflict and mood modification as the core criteria for symptoms of addictive behavior (McNicol & Thorsteinsson, 2017).…”

Social-emotional model of internet addiction

“…With this respect, internet addiction can be considered to be closely related to affections. Studies have put forward that internet addiction is related to depression [56][57][58][59], distress [60], happiness [42], hostility [61], irritation and anger [13], loneliness [62,63], shyness [64,65], fear [66], and bipolar disorder [58]. In addition, according to Savci and Aysan, among the attachment style (secure, dismissive, fearful, and preoccupied), peer relationships (companionship, conflict, help, security, and closeness) and positive-negative affection variables negative affection makes the most significant contribution to internet addiction [67].…”