Is Internet Addiction a Clinical Symptom or a Psychiatric Disorder? A Comparison With Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder and Gaming Disorder-Compatible or Incompatible Diagnoses?

Gaming Disorder (GD) is one of the latest additions in the psychiatric taxonomy, following its official inclusion in the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). This narrative review examines the rationale of an exclusion criterion for the diagnosis of GD, that of disordered gaming being limited exclusively during an episode of elevated mood in bipolar disorder. The history of the formulation of diagnostic criteria for the disorder and all relevant published studies are examined critically, and conclusions are drawn as to the potential validity and usability of the exclusion criterion. Suggestions are offered for future research to elucidate not only the relevance of the exclusion criterion but also the differential diagnosis of GD with pathological gambling (PG).

Changes in the comorbidity patterns of negative emotional symptoms and Internet addiction over time among the first-year senior high school students: A one-year longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

The comorbidity of psychiatric disorders and Internet addiction (IA) has been widely documented. However, changes and instability of the comorbidity between negative emotional symptoms and IA over time are not fully understood.

METHODS

A sample of 453 first-year senior high school students completed all measures three times across one-year period and were included in the current study. The sample consisted of 163 (36.0%) males and 290 (64.0%) females. At the baseline, the mean age of the participants was 15.07 ± 0.46 (range: 12-16) years old. Latent class analysis was used to identify the latent class pattern. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the association between covariates and latent classes at baseline. Latent transition analysis was applied to explore the changes in latent classes of individuals over time.

RESULTS

Three subgroups of negative emotional symptoms, IA and their comorbidity were identified at all the three time points. Being Internet gamers, high average time of Internet use every day, peer exclusion, verbal and physical bullying experience, and poor self-rated health were found to be significant predictors of the high comorbidity symptom. Students were more likely to remain the same class rather than moving between the latent classes across time.

CONCLUSIONS

A better understanding of change characteristics in latent classes across time contributes to confirm an appropriate time for intervention targeted on students who converted from low symptom class to the high class.

Association of Cyberbullying and Internet Use Disorder

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to critically assess the published studies on the relationship between cyberbullying and internet use disorder (IUD), and propose directions for further study.

Recent Findings

There were only four prospective studies out of thirty-two reviewed studies conducted since 2004, with only one prospective study conducted during the past 5 years. The field of study has been stagnant during the past 5 years with the vast majority of studies conducted on primary or secondary education and failing to address cyberbullying and IUD in social media and online gaming.

Summary

Cyberbullying and IUD have been described since the nineties, yet there are still significant issues with their definition and research. Lately, both these problematic behaviors are sharing the same environments in social media and online gaming. This critical appraisal of published research examined thirty-two published peer-reviewed studies carried out since 2004. Findings indicate a number of significant issues including an overreliance on cross-sectional study design, near-exclusive focus on primary and secondary education students, widespread employment of unstandardized measures for cyberbullying and IUD, and lack of assessment for objective measures of psychological distress. Directions for future research are offered.

A meta-analysis of the problematic social media use and mental health

BACKGROUND

Although previous meta-analyses were conducted to quantitatively synthesize the relation between problematic social media (SM) use and mental health, they focused on Facebook addiction.

AIMS

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine this relation by extending the research scope via the inclusion of studies examining problematic use of all platforms.

METHOD

One hundred and thirty-three independent samples (N =244,676) were identified.

RESULTS

As expected, the mean correlations between problematic SM use and well-being are negative, while those between problematic SM use and distress are positive. Life satisfaction and self-esteem are commonly used to represent well-being, while depression and loneliness are usually used to indicate distress. The mean correlations of problematic SM use with life satisfaction and self-esteem are small, whereas those of problematic SM use with depression and loneliness are moderate. The moderating effects of publication status, instruments, platforms and mean age are not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The magnitude of the correlations between problematic SM use and mental health indicators can generalize across most moderator conditions.

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

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.

When adolescents face both Internet addiction and mood symptoms: A cross-sectional study of comorbidity and its predictors

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of comorbid Internet addiction (IA) and mood symptoms and to identify common and unique risk profiles for individual and comorbid mental health problems among adolescents. A total of 2272 high school students in Changchun, China, were included in a cross-sectional study. Participants were asked to complete paper-based questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, Internet use, parent-child relationships, IA, and mood symptoms. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to compare the risk profiles for IA, mood symptoms, and their comorbidity. The Bonferroni correction was used for multiple tests. Students who were girls, were current smokers, had more than 1.5 h sleep deprivation per day on weekdays, used the Internet for more than 30 and 240 min per day on weekdays and weekends, respectively, used social networking sites more than 6 times per day, were Internet gamers, and/or reported poor parent-child relationships reported higher rates of comorbid IA and mood symptoms. Adolescents exposed to more of these correlates would have a higher risk of IA, mood symptoms, and their comorbidity. Public strategies for the prevention of mental illnesses should expand their capacity to identify and limit the co-occurrence of IA and mood symptoms.