Flow and Telepresence contributing to Internet Abuse: Differences according to Gender and Age

The relationship between short-form video use and depression among Chinese adolescents: Examining the mediating roles of need gratification and short-form video addiction

Short-form video apps, such as TikTok, have become popular worldwide. Compared to traditional social media, they have powerful push algorithms and are more entertaining, which might lead to some negative effects. Research has attempted to identify the relationship between short-form video use and depression, but the processes mechanism underly the relationship was few in number. The present study explored the association between short-form video use and depression among Chinese adolescents and analyzed the mediating roles of need gratification and short-form video addiction. The participants included 1302 senior high school students (Mage = 16.03, SD = 0.76, 42.6 % boys). And a structure equation model with chain mediating was established using Mplus. The results showed (1) a direct association between short-form video use and adolescent depression, (2) that entertainment need gratification, social-related need gratification, and short-form video addiction acted as chain mediating factors, and (3) no gender difference in the model. The present study's findings revealed the important mediating role of addictive behavior between normal use behavior and depression and suggested that preventative and interventional plans based on need gratification should be developed to reduce short-form video addiction and improve mental health.

Mapping the links between sexual addiction and gambling disorder: A Bayesian network approach

Contemporary literature and recent classification systems have expanded the field of addictions to include problematic behaviours such as gambling and sexual addiction. However, conceptualisation of behavioural addictions is poorly understood and gender-based differences have emerged in relation to how these behaviours are expressed. The current research conducted partial-correlation and Bayesian network analyses to assess the symptomatic structure of gambling disorder and sexual addiction. Convenience community sampling recruited 937 adults aged 18 to 64 years (315 females, Mage = 30.02; 622 males, Mage = 29.46). Symptoms of problematic behaviours were measured using the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGDQ) and the Bergen Yale Sex Addiction Scale (BYSAS). Results indicate distinct gender-based differences in the symptom networks of sexual addiction and gambling disorder, with a more complex network observed amongst men for both conditions. Addiction salience, withdrawal and dishonesty/deception were important components of the addictive network. Interpersonal conflict was more central for women while intrapsychic conflict a more prominent issue for men. Differences in the two symptom networks indicate separate disorders as opposed to a single underlying construct. Treating practitioners and community initiatives aimed at addressing sexual addiction and disordered gambling should consider gender, when designing educational or therapeutic interventions.

How do short videos influence users' tourism intention? A study of key factors

Background

Short videos play a key role in the process of tourism destination promotion, and attractive short videos can bring tourist flow and economic income growth to tourist attractions. Many tourist attractions in China have achieved remarkable success through short video promotion.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral characteristics of short video users browsing short tourism videos and explore what factors of short video affected users' tourism intention. This study also compared which factors were most important in triggering users' tourism intention in marketing communication via short tourism videos in order to shed light on tourism destination strategy and facilitate adaptation to market development trends.

Methods

This study developed a conceptual model by extending the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model with technology acceptance factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use) and short video factors (perceived enjoyment, perceived professionalism, perceived interactivity) to examine users' tourism intention. A convenience random sampling technique was used to distribute the questionnaire in Chinese city of Nanjing. Four hundred twenty-one respondents participated in the questionnaire, with 395 providing valid data.

Results

The results of the SEM analysis show that all posed hypotheses (Perceived professionalism - > Telepresence, Perceived interactivity - > Telepresence, Perceived enjoyment - > Telepresence, Perceived ease of use - > Telepresence, Perceived enjoyment - > Flow experience, Perceived ease of use - > Flow experience, Telepresence - > Flow experience, Telepresence - > Tourism intention, Flow experience - > Tourism intention) are confirmed except for (Perceived usefulness - > Tourism intention), which is not confirmed.

Conclusion

The findings of this study will help fill the gap in previous research on the relationship between short video influencing factors and users' tourism intention, thus contributing to the academic research on emerging short videos and the endorsement of destinations promoted by technological innovation.

Psychometric Assessment and Gender Invariance of the Polish Version of the Gaming Disorder Test

In 2019, Gaming Disorder (GD) was officially recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an official mental health disorder. Currently, the Gaming Disorder Test (GDT) is one of the most widely utilised psychometric tools to assess GD symptoms according to the WHO framework. In this context, the present study aimed to develop the Polish version of the GDT so that this tool can be used within the Polish cultural context. Additionally, the research aimed to ascertain the psychometric properties and appropriateness of the Polish GDT. To achieve this goal, the Polish GDT was investigated in terms of its validity, reliability, and gender measurement invariance through two studies. Accordingly, study 1 recruited a total of 675 gamers (340 female; Meanage = 31.74 years; SD = 7.75 years; range: 15-45 years) and study 2 comprised 575 gamers (275 female; M age = 29.45 years; SD = 4.25 years; range: 18-35 years). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess psychometric properties of the Polish GDT. The reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's omega, and Average Variance Extracted. Gender measurement invariance was investigated using multiple-group CFA, and the unidimensionality was tested using mean of item residual absolute loadings (MIREAL), explained common variance (ECV), and unidimensional congruence (UC). The results of the psychometric analysis showed that the Polish GDT had a one-factor structure. Additionally, the present study demonstrated that the Polish GDT exhibited adequate levels of convergent validity, reliability, and strict gender measurement invariance. These findings suggest that the Polish version of GDT is a suitable psychometric test to assess GD and facilitate research on GD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-022-00929-4.

Risks and Opportunities for Youth in the Digital Era

Abstract. Due to continued groundbreaking digital advancements, Internet use has increased significantly. This has led to a heated debate in relation to weighing the many advantages of the technology against its potentially deleterious effects. To address such questions, experts converge on the need for greater knowledge around the way individual differences, partly shaped by an individual’s unique experiences of engaging with the medium, and partly by other real-life experiences, lead to different developmental trajectories. Consequently, the goals of the present review are to (i) broadly describe differences in digital media applications, users, and usage; (ii) introduce the Cyber-Developmental Framework (CDF), as an overarching framework for understanding individual differences in adaptive and maladaptive digital media use among youth; (iii) delineate the cyber-component of this framework in relation to users’ experience of the digital context, their activity within it, as well as their digital self-presence, which may have an impact on their digital media use; and (iv) summarize priorities and future directions through the lens of this CDF. Within this context, this review particularly emphasizes the effect of digital media use on youth’s psychological well-being. It is argued that the trajectory youth will follow in their use of the Internet is a function of the interplay between their characteristics, their proximate and distal contexts, and the particular features of the digital application(s) that the individual is engaged in. The review points to the need to conduct research focusing on better understanding the developmental and digital-context-related influences on youth’s trajectories of Internet use.

Does the Dark Side of Personality Traits Explain Compulsive Smartphone Use of Higher Education Students? The Interaction Effect of Dark Side of Personality with Desirability and Feasibility of Smartphone Use

Research on compulsive use of smartphones amongst students largely remains unexplored. The study seeks to investigate the feasibility and desirability motives—instant gratification, mood regulations, convenience, flow and personality—to understand the compulsive use of smartphones. The results of the useful data of 200 respondents following purposive sampling design, provided evidence of instant gratification, mood regulation and convenience motives, which significantly explain flow and compulsive smartphone use. Personality of users also appeared as a significant moderator between flow and compulsive smartphone use. The findings of the study reveal that the personality of smartphone users enhances the propensity to build compulsive smartphone use. Additionally, the findings reveal the double-edged sword impact of flow in forming compulsive smartphone use and allowing smartphone brands to design phones that help phone users to develop self-control over their behaviours related to using smartphones.

Propriedades Psicométricas da Escala de Presença em Tecnologias Ubíquas

Este estudo teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma escala de presença nas tecnologias ubíquas. O processo de desenvolvimento do instrumento teve como etapas a escolha dos atributos comportamentais referentes ao objeto de estudo e à operacionalização do construto, a apresentação a três juízes, dois grupos focais e a uma aplicação piloto em uma amostra reduzida (n = 30) e por fim, uma aplicação com a 458 participantes. Foram realizadas análises de consistência interna, análise fatorial confirmatória e análise fatorial confirmatória multigrupo. A versão final da Escala de Presença em Tecnologias Ubíquas conta com 14 itens, agrupados em três fatores independentes (Autopresença, Presença Espacial e Presença Social), e apresenta um bom índice de consistência interna (alfa = 0,905) e um índice de ajuste aceitável (c2  = 116,83; gl = 74; p < 0,01; CFI = 0,99; RMSEA = 0,035; SRMR = 0,053), com parâmetros psicométricos equivalentes por gênero.

Associations between attention deficit hyperactivity and internet gaming disorder symptoms: Is there consistency across types of symptoms, gender and countries?

BACKGROUND

Videogame addiction has been suggested as a tentative disorder in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and was recently officially recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although a few studies have identified attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a key risk factor for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), the interplay between ADHD and IGD symptoms with gender differences across cultures remains to be further examined.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the moderating effects of gender in the association between ADHD and IGD across two nations.

METHOD

A cross-sectional online survey was developed to recruit 164 Australian (Mage = 23.01, SD = 3.35, Minage = 18, Maxage = 31, Males n = 121, 73.80%) and 457 U.S.-North American (Mage = 25.25 years, SD = 2.76, Minage = 18 years, Maxage = 29 years, Males = 265, 57.98%) Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) players aged between 18 and 29 years.

RESULTS

The hierarchical linear regression, moderation and moderated moderation analyses revealed that participants presenting greater inattention and hyperactivity symptoms exhibited higher levels of IGD-related behaviors in the two samples. Moreover, these associations differed across genders between the two countries. Specifically, more hyperactive-impulsive, as well as inattentive males in the USA presented higher levels of disordered gaming.

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the need for more cross-cultural and symptom-focused research in the broader IGD field.

Assessing Online Flow Across Cultures: A Two-Fold Measurement Invariance Study

The association between online Flow and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has attracted significant attention. Despite the consensus that online Flow plays a pivotal role in the development of IGD and other Internet addictive behaviors, there has been a lack of consistency in measurement scales used to assess online Flow. Even widely used measures of online Flow have not been psychometrically assessed across culturally diverse populations of gamers. Such an assessment would enhance the accuracy of cross-cultural comparisons. Attending to this need, the present study assessed the psychometric properties of the binary coded (i.e., Yes, No) Online Flow Questionnaire (OFQ), while concurrently taking into consideration country, age, language, and mode of data collection (online or face-to-face) differences. Two sequences of successive multiple group confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the psychometric properties of the OFQ, between: (a) emergent adults from the United States of America (N = 482, Mage = 25.23, SD = 2.746) and Australia (N = 168, Mage = 23.55, SD = 3.37) and (b) adolescents from Greece (N = 1579, Mage = 16.12, SD = 0.849) and Cyprus (N = 1372, Mage = 15.54, SD = 0.656). Configural and partial metric invariance were confirmed between the United States and Australian samples. For the Greek and Cypriot samples, results indicated full configural and metric invariance. These results provide initial information to researchers and clinicians of the extent to which the OFQ maintains its consistency when used across cultures and invite for further cross-cultural studies in the field. Implications, as well as limitations, are discussed.

Internet gaming disorder: Feeling the flow of social games

Introduction

Gaming Disorder (GD) was added to the recent publication of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization. This aligns with recommendations of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5), issued by the American Psychiatric Association. Accordingly, further relevant research has been invited. The interplay between preference for online social game genres, the degree of online Flow (or immersive pleasure) experienced, and the gamer's biological gender were examined here as contributing factors of IGD.

Method

A normative sample of adult internet gamers was collected online (N = 237, Age = 18-59, Males = 157; 66%; Females = 80; 34%). Participants completed the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), the Online Flow Questionnaire (OFQ), and also self-reported demographics and internet/gaming behaviours.

Results

Mediation and moderated mediation analyses indicated that the level of online Flow experienced considerably mediated the association between the preference for social games genres and the intensity of IGD behaviours across both biological genders.

Conclusions

Results suggest that the level of online Flow experienced constitutes a risk factor in relation to the development of IGD. Furthermore, games which mandate social interaction with others present to be conducive to online Flow, and thus enhancing IGD risk irrespective of the biological gender of the gamer. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Internet pornography viewing preference as a risk factor for adolescent Internet addiction: The moderating role of classroom personality factors

Background and aims Adolescent Internet pornography viewing has been significantly increased in the last decade with research highlighting its association with Internet addiction (IA). However, there is little longitudinal data on this topic, particularly in relation to peer context effects. This study aimed to examine age- and context-related variations in the Internet pornography-IA association. Methods A total of 648 adolescents, from 34 classrooms, were assessed at 16 years and then at 18 years to examine the effect of Internet pornography preference on IA in relation to the classroom context. IA was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998), Internet pornography preference (over other Internet applications) was assessed with a binary (yes/no) question, and classroom introversion and openness to experience (OTE) with the synonymous subscales within the Five Factor Questionnaire (Asendorpf & Van Aken, 2003). Results Three-level hierarchical linear models were calculated. Findings showed that viewing Internet pornography exacerbates the risk of IA over time, while classroom factors, such as the average level of OTE and introversion, differentially moderate this relationship. Discussion and conclusion The study demonstrated that the contribution of Internet pornography preference (as an IA risk factor) might be increased in more extroverted classrooms and decreased in OTE classrooms.

The longitudinal association between anxiety and Internet addiction in adolescence: The moderating effect of classroom extraversion

Background and aims The risk effect of anxiety on addictive behaviors, including Internet addiction (IA), has repeatedly been highlighted in the international literature. However, there is a lack of longitudinal studies examining this association in relation to proximal context effects, particularly in adolescence. Such findings would shed light on potential age- and proximal context-related variations in the anxiety-IA association that could better inform IA prevention and intervention initiatives. Methods In this study, 648 adolescents, embedded in 34 classrooms, were assessed at the age of 16 and again at the age of 18 to examine the effect of anxiety on IA behaviors in relation to the average level of classroom extraversion. IA was assessed with the Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998), anxiety with the relevant subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90 - Revised (Derogatis & Savitz, 1999) and classroom extraversion with the synonymous subscale of the Five Factor Questionnaire (Asendorpf & van Aken, 2003). A three-level hierarchical linear model was calculated. Results The present findings demonstrated that: (a) higher levels of anxiety were significantly associated with higher IA behaviors, (b) the strength of this association did not vary over time (between 16 and 18 years old), and (c) however, it tended to weaken within classrooms higher in extraversion. Discussion This study indicated that the contribution of individual IA risk factors might differently unfold within different contexts.