Internet Addictive Behavior in Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Study in Seven European Countries

A cross-sectional school-based survey study (N=13,284; 53% females; mean age 15.8±0.7) of 14-17-year-old adolescents was conducted in seven European countries (Greece, Spain, Poland, Germany, Romania, the Netherlands, and Iceland). The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of Internet addictive behavior (IAB) and related psychosocial characteristics among adolescents in the participating countries. In the study, we distinguish two problematic groups: adolescents with IAB, characterized by a loss of control over their Internet use, and adolescents "at risk for IAB," showing fewer or weaker symptoms of IAB. The two groups combined form a group of adolescents with dysfunctional Internet behavior (DIB). About 1% of adolescents exhibited IAB and an additional 12.7% were at risk for IAB; thus, in total, 13.9% displayed DIB. The prevalence of DIB was significantly higher among boys than among girls (15.2% vs. 12.7%, p<0.001) and varied widely between countries, from 7.9% in Iceland to 22.8% in Spain. Frequent use of specific online activities (e.g., gambling, social networking, gaming) at least 6 days/week was associated with greater probability of displaying DIB. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that DIB was more frequent among adolescents with a lower educational level of the parents, earlier age at first use of the Internet, and greater use of social networking sites and gaming sites. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that externalizing (i.e., behavioral) and internalizing (i.e., emotional) problems were associated with the presence of DIB.

[1]  Kimberly Young,et al.  Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder , 1998, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[2]  Alexander von Eye,et al.  Information Technology (IT) Use and Children's Psychological Well-Being , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[3]  R. Engels,et al.  Online communication, compulsive Internet use, and psychosocial well-being among adolescents: a longitudinal study. , 2008, Developmental psychology.

[4]  Dike van de Mheen,et al.  Compulsive Internet use: the role of online gaming and other internet applications. , 2010, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[5]  Robert LaRose,et al.  Loneliness as the Cause and the Effect of Problematic Internet Use: The Relationship between Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[6]  R. Tao,et al.  Proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction. , 2010, Addiction.

[7]  A. Gerdner,et al.  Predictors of gambling problems among male adolescents , 2003 .

[8]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Online Social Networking and Addiction—A Review of the Psychological Literature , 2011, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[9]  Daniel L. King,et al.  The Convergence of Gambling and Digital Media: Implications for Gambling in Young People , 2010, Journal of Gambling Studies.

[10]  Scott E. Caplan.  Theory and measurement of generalized problematic Internet use: A two-step approach , 2010, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[11]  Lawrence T Lam,et al.  Effect of pathological use of the internet on adolescent mental health: a prospective study. , 2010, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[12]  A. Tsitsika,et al.  Risk factors and psychosocial characteristics of potential problematic and problematic internet use among adolescents: A cross-sectional study , 2011, BMC public health.

[13]  K. Namkoong,et al.  The Relationship Between Online Game Addiction and Aggression, Self-Control and Narcissistic Personality Traits , 2008, European Psychiatry.

[14]  Artemis Tsitsika,et al.  Internet use and misuse: a multivariate regression analysis of the predictive factors of internet use among Greek adolescents , 2009, European Journal of Pediatrics.

[15]  Kyunghee Kim,et al.  Internet addiction in Korean adolescents and its relation to depression and suicidal ideation: a questionnaire survey. , 2006, International journal of nursing studies.

[16]  S. Pallesen,et al.  Prevalence and correlates of gambling among 16 to 19-year-old adolescents in Norway. , 2009, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[17]  A. Lohaus,et al.  Children and Parents as Informants of Emotional and Behavioural Problems Predicting Female and Male Adolescent Risk Behaviour: A Longitudinal Cross-Informant Study , 2008 .

[18]  Tim M. Schoenmakers,et al.  Is there such a thing as online video game addiction? A cross-disciplinary review , 2013 .

[19]  A. Johansson,et al.  Internet addiction: characteristics of a questionnaire and prevalence in Norwegian youth (12-18 years). , 2004, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[20]  C. Ko,et al.  Predictive values of psychiatric symptoms for internet addiction in adolescents: a 2-year prospective study. , 2009, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[21]  Joan M. T. Walker,et al.  Parents' motivations for involvement in children's education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. , 2007 .

[22]  Jan Noyes,et al.  Mobile Telephones, Computers, and the Internet: Sex Differences in Adolescents' Use and Attitudes , 2007, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[23]  R. A. Davis,et al.  A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use , 2001, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[24]  S. Griffiths,et al.  Brief report: Predictors of heavy Internet use and associations with health-promoting and health risk behaviors among Hong Kong university students. , 2010, Journal of adolescence.

[25]  Chin-Chung Tsai,et al.  Sensation seeking and internet dependence of Taiwanese high school adolescents , 2000, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[26]  Klaus Wölfling,et al.  Computerspielverhalten: Klinische Merkmale von Abhängigkeit und Missbrauch bei Jugendlichen , 2009, Wiener klinische Wochenschrift.

[27]  C. K. Yang,et al.  Sociopsychiatric characteristics of adolescents who use computers to excess , 2001, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[28]  Eric B. Weiser,et al.  The Functions of Internet Use and Their Social and Psychological Consequences , 2001, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[29]  Arja Rimpelä,et al.  Internet addiction? Potentially problematic use of the Internet in a population of 12–18 year-old adolescents , 2004 .

[30]  Eric B. Weiser,et al.  Gender Differences in Internet Use Patterns and Internet Application Preferences: A Two-Sample Comparison , 2000, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[31]  Jee Hyun Ha,et al.  Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction. , 2006, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[32]  Robert LaRose,et al.  Unregulated Internet Usage: Addiction, Habit, or Deficient Self-Regulation? , 2003 .

[33]  R. Thomasius,et al.  [Pathological Internet use--epidemiology, diagnostics, co-occurring disorders and treatment]. , 2009, Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie.

[34]  Alireza Moradi,et al.  Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Comparison of Internet Addicts and Non-Addicts in Iranian High Schools , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[35]  M. Kaess,et al.  Prevalence of pathological internet use among adolescents in Europe: demographic and social factors. , 2012, Addiction.

[36]  C. Hickman.  High School Parent Involvement: Relationships with Achievement, Grade Level, SES, and Gender. , 1995 .

[37]  Chih-Hung Ko,et al.  Psychiatric symptoms in adolescents with Internet addiction: Comparison with substance use , 2008, Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences.