Problematic internet use profiles and psychosocial risk among adolescents

Problematic use of the internet as a predictor of oral health-related quality of life: the mediating role of lifestyles in Peruvian schoolchildren

BACKGROUND

The pervasiveness of the Internet in everyday life, especially among young people, has raised concerns about its effects on mental health, education, and, recently, oral health. Previous research has suggested a complex relationship between Problematic Internet Use (PIU), lifestyles, and oral health-related quality of life, highlighting the need to examine these interactions further. This study seeks to explore the PIU as a predictor of oral health-related quality of life and examine the mediating role of lifestyles between both in a sample of Peruvian schoolchildren.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out with 293 Peruvian students aged 12 to 17 years (M = 14.42, SD = 1.5), using structural equations to analyze the relationship between PIU, lifestyles, and quality of life related to oral health. The data collection procedure was through a face-to-face survey. Validated instruments measured PIU, lifestyles, and oral health-related quality of life. The study's theoretical model was analyzed through structural equation modeling with the MLR estimator. The fit assessment was performed using the comparative fit index (CFI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR).

RESULTS

They indicated significant correlations between PIU, lifestyles, and oral health-related quality of life. A negative influence of PIU on lifestyles (β = -0.30, p < .001) and on oral health-related quality of life (β = -0.35, p < .001) was observed, as well as a positive relationship between PIU and oral health-related quality of life (β = 0.29, p < .001). The mediation of lifestyles was statistically significant, suggesting that they mediate the relationship between PIU and oral health-related quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

The study confirms that PIU can negatively affect adolescents' oral health-related quality of life, mediated by unhealthy lifestyles. It underlines the importance of promoting balanced Internet use and healthy lifestyles among young people to improve their oral well-being.

Examining the interplay between internet use disorder tendencies and well-being in relation to sofalizing during the COVID-19 pandemic

AIMS

The present study investigated the potential links between Internet Use Disorder tendencies, well-being and the impact of COVID-19 on Internet usage patterns.

METHOD

A sample of 2498 participants filled out the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; the cognitive facet of well-being) and the Sofalizing Scale which comprises the Online Displacement and Social Compensation dimensions. Participants were also asked to report the extent to which changes in Internet use occurred due to COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., reductions, no changes, increases). The present study comprised a survey study with cross-sectional character.

RESULTS

The statistical analyses demonstrated that the aforementioned variables were robustly associated with each other. In a first mediation model, the association between higher levels of Internet Use Disorder and reduced well-being was partially mediated by the two dimensions of the Sofalizing scale called Online Displacement and Social Compensation. The results of the second mediation model showed that the relationship between changes in Internet use due to COVID-19 pandemic and well-being was fully mediated by CIUS scores, suggesting that increased Internet use due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased levels of Internet Use Disorder tendencies, which in turn decreased levels of well-being.

DISCUSSION

The findings are discussed in the context of human social needs in a time of crisis, where meeting people in-person was restricted.

Prevalence of problematic Internet use and problematic gaming in Spanish adolescents

Epidemiological studies on problematic Internet use and problematic gaming conducted so far have mainly been carried out with unrepresentative and self-selected convenience samples, resulting in unreliable prevalence rates. This study estimates the prevalence of problematic Internet use and problematic gaming in a large sample of Spanish adolescents (N = 41,507) and identifies risk and protective factors for these risky behaviours. Data were collected online using the Adolescent Problem Internet Use Scale and the Adolescent Gaming Addiction Scale. Using a cut-off approach with measurement instruments inspired by the DSM-5 framework, we found a prevalence of 33% for problematic Internet use and 3.1% for problematic gaming. With a more conservative approach inspired by the ICD-11 framework, prevalence rates decreased to 2.98% for problematic Internet use and 1.8% for problematic gaming. Female gender, higher parents' education, elevated Internet connection time, reporting being online after midnight and using the mobile phone in class predicted problematic Internet use; whereas male gender, "living situation" where families do not have a traditional structure or stable environment, elevated Internet connection time and reporting using the mobile phone in class predicted problematic gaming. A cut-off approach involving scales that recycle substance use criteria (as in the DSM-5) over-pathologize Internet use and gaming behaviours. In contrast, the ICD-11 approach seems to provide more realistic and reliable prevalence rates.

Problematic Internet Use among Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study in 15 Countries

BACKGROUND

The present study compared adult usage patterns of online activities, the frequency rate of problematic internet use (PIU), and risk factors (including the psychopathology associated with PIU, i.e., distress and impulsivity) among adults in 15 countries from Europe, America, and Asia.

METHODS

A total of 5130 adults from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, UK, Norway, Peru, Canada, US, and Indonesia completed an online survey assessing PIU and a number of psychological variables (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, and impulsivity). The sample included more females, with a mean age of 24.71 years (SD = 8.70).

RESULTS

PIU was slightly lower in European countries (rates ranged from 1.1% in Finland to 10.1% in the UK, compared to 2.9% in Canada and 10.4% in the US). There were differences in specific PIU rates (e.g., problematic gaming ranged from 0.4% in Poland to 4.7% in Indonesia). Regression analyses showed that PIU was predicted by problematic social networking and gaming, lack of perseverance, positive urgency, and depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The differences in PIU between countries were significant for those between continental regions (Europe versus non-European countries). One of the most interesting findings is that the specific PIU risks were generally low compared to contemporary literature. However, higher levels of PIU were present in countries outside of Europe, although intra-European differences existed.

Psychometric properties of three online-related addictive behavior instruments among Bangladeshi school-going adolescents

BACKGROUND

Due to the ease of access to the internet in modern society users have become more prone to experiencing addictive behaviors online. The present study aimed to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the Bangla Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF), Gaming Disorder Test (GDT), and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) due to a lack of existing sound psychometric tools in Bangladesh.

METHODS

A cross-sectional paper-and-pencil survey was carried out among 428 school-aged adolescents who were active gamers (90.89% males; Meanage: 16.13±1.85 years; age range: 10-19 years). Participants were recruited using convenience sampling across four selected schools in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Data collected included sociodemographic information, frequency of internet use and gaming behaviors, psychological states (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7]), disordered gaming and social media use (i.e., IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS). Psychometric testing was conducted to examine the validity and reliability levels of the Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS.

RESULTS

The newly adapted Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS exhibited adequate levels of internal consistency. All total scores were significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, frequencies of internet use/online activities and gaming, supporting criterion and convergent validity. CFA indicated excellent construct validity as all instruments had a good fit to the data.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the Bangla IGDS9-SF, GDT, and BSMAS are sound psychometric instruments due to their satisfactory psychometric properties including internal consistency, criterion validity, convergent validity, and construct validity.

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.

Relationship between depressive symptoms and internet usage time among adolescents: Results from a nationwide survey

Adolescent depression is becoming a public health problem. In this study the association between depressive symptoms and internet usage time in adolescents was examined, with data collected from the China Education Tracking Survey (CEPS). The survey is publicly available and carried out nationwide. A logistic regression analysis was conducted with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), the subgroup analysis examined the relationships between internet usage time and depressive symptoms. A total of 10,705 adolescents were involved, where 46.4% of them are caught by the internet for more than two hours per day. Adolescents keeping on the internet for 6-8 h per day were reported to have higher odds of depressive symptoms than adolescents who were free from it with the confounders of individual, family, and school adjusted, which were observed among groups with a medium family economic status without living with their father and with a sleep time less than nine hours. The results revealed that adolescents spending more time online had a higher risk of experiencing depression symptoms. This study suggested that it is helpful for mental health professionals to evaluate and develop prevention interventions for depressive symptoms in adolescents promptly through monitoring and managing online time.

A network analysis of the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF): A large-scale cross-cultural study in Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

The Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) is a validated instrument assessing internet disorder which modified the internet gaming disorder criteria proposed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the relationships between the nine items in the IDS9-SF are rarely investigated. The present study used network analysis to investigate the features of the IDS9-SF among three populations in Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan. Data were collected (N = 1901; 957 [50.3%] females; 666 [35.0%] Pakistani, 533 [28.1%] Bangladesh, and 702 [36.9%] Iranians) using an online survey platform (e.g., Google Forms). All the participants completed the IDS9-SF. The central-stability-coefficients of the nine IDS9-SF items were 0.71, 0.89, 0.96, 0.98, 0.98, 1.00, 0.67, 0.79, and 0.91, respectively. The node centrality was stable and interpretable in the network. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) showed that the network structure had no significant differences among Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Iranian participants (p-values = 0.172 to 0.371). Researchers may also use the IDS9-SF to estimate underlying internet addiction for their target participants and further explore and investigate the phenomenon related to internet addiction.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03284-8.