A meta-analysis of the relationships between psychosocial problems and internet habits: Synthesizing internet addiction, problematic internet use, and deficient self-regulation research

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Tokunaga
Author(s):  
Silvana Melissa Romero Saletti ◽  
Stephan Van den Broucke ◽  
Cecilia Chau

Problematic Internet use (PIU) can lead to dysfunction and undesired consequences, especially in adolescents and youths. Preventive interventions can reduce them, but should be built on sound evidence. This review synthesizes the available evidence on the effectiveness of primary prevention programs for PIU in adolescents and youths. It adds to previous reviews by broadening the search to general and specific problematic behavior. Two independent reviewers performed a systematic search for published studies on PIU and internet addiction in English, French and Spanish using PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus. Published experimental and quasi-experimental studies that assessed the effectiveness of primary prevention programs targeting PIU behaviors were considered for inclusion. Full texts for eligible studies were retrieved and assessed for quality. Five studies were retained for narrative synthesis. Three of them based the intervention strategy on an underlying theory, one on media literacy, and one used an educational-based approach. A meta-analysis showed that all five interventions were effective in preventing internet addiction separately. However, when using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman (HKSJ) estimator and removing one of the studies because of a disproportionate Hedges’ g, combined effects were no longer significant. Although PIU is a popular topic, little is known about ways to prevent it. This review demonstrates that prevention programs can be based on different theoretical approaches, but that the available evidence is too heterogeneous to derive generalizable conclusions concerning their effectiveness.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932199865
Author(s):  
José-María Romero-Rodríguez ◽  
José-Antonio Marín-Marín ◽  
Francisco-Javier Hinojo-Lucena ◽  
Gerardo Gómez-García

The problematic Internet use (PIU) has become a topic of special relevance since it is a problem that affects the whole world. It has been detected that the population at greatest risk is university students along with adolescents. At the same time, Spain is one of the countries with the highest PIU rate. The purposes of this article were to analyze the presence and degree of Internet addiction among university students and to check the sociodemographic factors that influence the PIU. To this end, 13 hypotheses were put forward and contrasted using a structural equation model. The study adopted a cross-sectional approach by applying the Internet addiction test to a sample of undergraduate students in southern Spain ( n = 1,013). The results indicated a prevalence of PIU among students of almost 12.5% and with a moderate degree of addiction. In turn, the following hypotheses that had a significant effect on the PIU were supported: gender; field of knowledge; living in the parents’ home; Internet daily use for leisure; Internet daily use for academic purposes; number of social networks; sexual orientation; marital status. Finally, the main findings of the study were reviewed, and the main recommendations and implications for mitigating the negative effects of technology and enhancing the positive ones were established.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1301
Author(s):  
Miriam Romero-López ◽  
Carmen Pichardo ◽  
Isabel De De Hoces ◽  
Trinidad García-Berbén

Internet use has been steadily and unstoppably gaining ground in all areas of life, from recreational activities to the establishment of social relations. However, addictive use of the Internet is a problem that seriously affects some people. Factors that may influence the occurrence of inappropriate internet use include age and social skills. For this reason, the aim of this study is to analyze the influence of social skills and age on the development of problematic internet use in university students. The study involved 514 students enrolled at a university in Spain, who filled in two questionnaires, one on problematic internet use and the other on social skills. Multivariate multiple linear regression models revealed that some social skills variables (conversation and social ease, empathic and positive feeling skills, risk coping) predicted problematic internet use. In addition, age played a role in preference for online social interaction and deficient self-regulation. Younger students were more at risk of having obsessive thoughts related to internet use and of engaging in compulsive internet use compared to older students.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengjiao Li ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Naishi Li ◽  
Xinying Li

Our goal was to estimate genetic and environmental sources of influence on adolescent problematic internet use, and whether these individual differences can be explained by effortful control, an important aspect of self-regulation. A sample of 825 pairs of Chinese adolescent twins and their parents provided reports of problematic internet use and effortful control. Univariate analysis revealed that genetic factors explained 58–66% of variance in problematic internet use, with the rest explained by non-shared environmental factors. Sex difference was found, suggesting boys’ problematic internet use was more influenced by genetic influences than girls’ problematic internet use. Bivariate analysis indicated that effortful control accounted for a modest portion of the genetic and non-shared environmental variance in problematic internet use among girls. In contrast, among boys, effortful control explained between 6% (parent report) and 20% (self-report) of variance in problematic internet use through overlapping genetic pathways. Adolescent problematic internet use is heritable, and poor effortful control can partly explain adolescent problematic internet use, with effects stronger for boys. Implications for future research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119
Author(s):  
Preeti Mathew ◽  
Raman K

The internet is recognized as a medium for information exchange, in various fields such as in academic research, entertainment, communication and commerce, across the world. Continuous use of internet results in a lot of psychological and mental disorders like anxiety, depression, stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder; as observed in many of the studies carried out recently. Recently, Problematic Internet Use has become a global phenomenon that causes serious problem to the affected individual leading to impairment in psychological well-being by causing excessive stress and affecting the individual’s academic performance. The present study aimed to assess the Problematic Internet Use and its relationship with Academic Stress and Academic Performance among adolescents in selected schools, Kochi, Kerala, India. The study was conducted in Private Aided School, in Muvattupuzha Taluk of Ernakulam Dist, Kerala. A cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach was selected, and the study was conducted in July 2018 among 125 adolescents and participants were selected using random sampling technique. The samples were provided with a self-administered questionnaire after obtaining written consent from their parents and the students. The findings of the study revealed that 59.20% had mild Problematic internet addiction. 65% of the adolescents reported moderate stress and 32% had mild stress. Academic performance-wise, 60% of the adolescents were found to be average in the studies. Karl-Pearson coefficient indicated a significant relation between Academic Stress (r=-1 and p<0.001). Based on the findings one can conclude that the adolescents who were having internet addiction were found to have detrimental effects both in their Academic Performance and academic stress to some extent. As a result, the use of internet in normal limits or in moderation may not cause potential harm to their adolescents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 750-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Schmidt ◽  
Michelle Valdez ◽  
Maureen Farrell ◽  
Frank Bishop ◽  
Warren P Klam ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Problematic use of video games, social media, and Internet-related activities may be associated with sleep deprivation and poor work performance. The Internet Addiction Test was given to military medical and nursing students and housestaff to assess problematic Internet use. Methods Medical and nursing students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and residents from Naval Medical Center San Diego were contacted via email (n = 1,000) and given a survey that included the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and questions asking about other specific lifestyle variables. Individuals who received an Internet Addiction Score (IAS) ≥50 were identified as likely experiencing harmful effects of Internet addiction (IA). Results Of 399 surveys submitted, 68 were omitted due to gross incompletion or failing to finish the entirety of the IAT. Of the participants included, 205 (61.1%) were male and 125 (37.9%) were female. The mean age was 28.6 years old (S.D. = 5.1 years). In regards to training status, completed surveys were assessed for 94 medical residents, 221 School of Medicine students, and 16 Graduate School of Nursing students. Our survey showed 5.5% of the participants (n = 18) indicated problems with Internet use that are concerning for IA. Conclusions The study results indicated that our population showed problematic Internet use in the lower range of global estimates of IA. Rates of IA further decreased between medical students and residents. Multiple lifestyle variables were significantly associated with IA score and may serve as indicators of a higher score. Interestingly, the use of social media during sleeping hours was most significantly associated with increased IAS. This paper discusses IA among military medical and nursing trainees and how problematic Internet use may affect work performance and force readiness.


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