Researchers from The University of Hong Kong are debating whether
internet addiction should be formally recognised as a distinct
mental health condition. Their study is published in the June issue
of the
British Journal of Psychiatry.
Internet addiction has been described as an
emerging psychiatric disorder because of increasing concern over
the potential adverse effects of excessive internet use –
particularly in young people. However, many academics and
clinicians have argued that internet addiction does not exist
independently from other types of mental health problems.
Dr King-wa Fu and colleagues interviewed 208
adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19. The teenagers were asked
questions about how often they used the internet, and filled in a
checklist to find out if they showed symptoms of addiction.
Symptoms of possible internet addiction
include feeling restless, moody, depressed or irritable when
attempting to cut down internet use, staying online for longer than
intended, and lying to family and others about internet use. The
teenagers were also assessed to find out if they displayed other
psychiatric symptoms, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety,
and suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide).
The researchers found that 6.7% of the Hong
Kong teenagers had 5 or more symptoms of internet addiction –
around 1 in 15. Those with 5 or more symptoms were also
significantly more likely to report having symptoms of depression
and suicidal ideation as well.
Generally speaking, those teenagers who used
the internet casually – for less than an hour a day or less than
two days a week – were less likely to show signs of being addicted
to the internet.
Dr Fu said: “Our study demonstrated that
internet addiction could be sufficiently differentiated from a few
other mental conditions, including symptoms of depression, anxiety
and suicidal thought.”
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is
in the process of revising its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
(DSM), with the fifth edition due to be published in May 2013.
Dr Fu said: “As the APA has recently suggested
to classify internet addiction into a newly created category,
namely ‘behavioral addiction’, and been considering including
internet addiction in the manual’s appendix, our study’s attempt to
highlight the issues of defining internet addiction and its
boundary with respect to other mental health conditions is
timely.”
According to a report by China Internet
Network Information Center (CNNIC), the number of internet users in
Mainland China in 2009 reached 340 million – the largest internet
population at a global level and the largest internet broadband
market in the world. The CNNIC report also claimed that 1 in every
6 Chinese internet users may have developed some level of internet
addiction.
For further information, please
contact:
Liz Leicester
or Deborah Hart in the Communications
Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
References:
Fu K-W, Chan WSC, Wong PWC and Yip P (2010) Internet addiction: prevalence, discriminant validity and correlates among adolescents in Hong Kong, British Journal of Psychiatry, 196:486-492