An initial investigation of the role of depressive and anxious syndromes in Problematic Internet Use in adolescence and young adults
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Published:2023-01-30
Issue:1
Volume:17
Page:
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ISSN:1802-7962
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Container-title:Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace
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language:
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Short-container-title:Cyberpsychology
Author:
Paulino Sofia Botelho de Sousa,Bárbara Mesquita ,Ana Margarida Fraga ,Hugo Gomes ,Luís Madeira
Abstract
Depressive and anxious syndromes have been proposed as risk factors and as consequences of Problematic Internet Use (PIU). There has been no study relating affective symptoms in subjects with Problematic Internet Use and those with major depressive and anxious syndromes. In this study, three samples were collected: two from ambulatory clinical settings of the North Lisbon Hospital Centre (1. Centre for PIU and 2. Out-patient psychiatry consultation for adolescents and young adults) and a control group from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa. Internet use profile and affective psychopathology were assessed and socio-demographic characteristics were controlled. The results revealed that both the PIU group and the clinical group presented significantly higher depression and anxiety scores than the control group while there was no significant difference between them. Also, Problematic Internet Users, similarly to the clinical group, tend to live in less functional families. We speculate that the similitude between samples and yet such different clinical presentations could be explained if Internet acted as a buffer to affective psychopathology. These findings warrant exploring the possibility of PIU as new (and generation biased) psychopathology of depressive or anxious states.
Publisher
Masaryk University Press
Subject
General Psychology,Social Sciences (miscellaneous),Communication,Information Systems,Pathology and Forensic Medicine
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