Attachment Style and Internet Addiction: An Online Survey

Background One of the clinically relevant problems of Internet use is the phenomenon of Internet addiction. Considering the fact that there is ample evidence for the relationship between attachment style and substance abuse, it stands to reason that attachment theory can also make an important contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Internet addiction. Objective The aim of this study was to examine people’s tendency toward pathological Internet usage in relation to their attachment style. Methods An online survey was conducted. Sociodemographic data, attachment style (Bielefeld questionnaire partnership expectations), symptoms of Internet addiction (scale for online addiction for adults), used Web-based services, and online relationship motives (Cyber Relationship Motive Scale, CRMS-D) were assessed. In order to confirm the findings, a study using the Rorschach test was also conducted. Results In total, 245 subjects were recruited. Participants with insecure attachment style showed a higher tendency to pathological Internet usage compared with securely attached participants. An ambivalent attachment style was particularly associated with pathological Internet usage. Escapist and social-compensatory motives played an important role for insecurely attached subjects. However, there were no significant effects with respect to Web-based services and apps used. Results of the analysis of the Rorschach protocol with 16 subjects corroborated these results. Users with pathological Internet use frequently showed signs of infantile relationship structures in the context of social groups. This refers to the results of the Web-based survey, in which interpersonal relationships were the result of an insecure attachment style. Conclusions Pathological Internet use was a function of insecure attachment and limited interpersonal relationships.

[1]  C. Ko,et al.  The association between Internet addiction and psychiatric disorder: A review of the literature , 2012, European Psychiatry.

[2]  P. Vorderer,et al.  Lehrbuch der Medienpsychologie , 2004 .

[3]  J. Wyatt,et al.  Using the Internet for Surveys and Health Research , 2002, Journal of medical Internet research.

[4]  L. Young,et al.  The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction , 2012, Psychopharmacology.

[5]  B. T. Wildt,et al.  Störungen von Selbsterleben und Beziehungsverhalten bei Menschen mit Internetabhängigkeit , 2011 .

[6]  The Status of the Rorschach in Clinical and Forensic Practice: An Official Statement by the Board of Trustees of the Society for Personality Assessment , 2005, Journal of personality assessment.

[7]  K. Robertson.  The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds , 2009, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[8]  Daniel L. King,et al.  The cognitive psychology of Internet gaming disorder. , 2014, Clinical psychology review.

[9]  Todd S. Essig.  The addiction concept and technology: diagnosis, metaphor, or something else? a psychodynamic point of view. , 2012, Journal of clinical psychology.

[10]  G. Meyer,et al.  The validity of individual Rorschach variables: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the comprehensive system. , 2013, Psychological bulletin.

[11]  Chih-Chien Wang,et al.  Cyber relationship motives: Scale development and validation , 2010 .

[12]  Pathologischer PC-/Internetgebrauch , 2009 .

[13]  P. Schuhler.  Pathologischer PC / Internet-Gebrauch: Krankheitsmodell, diagnostische und therapeutische Ansätze , 2009 .

[14]  K. Bartholomew,et al.  Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  Sally Melissa Gainsbury.  Internet Gambling: Current Research Findings and Implications , 2012 .

[16]  S. Lilienfeld,et al.  The Scientific Status of Projective Techniques , 2000, Psychological science in the public interest : a journal of the American Psychological Society.

[17]  T. Quandt,et al.  Problematic computer game use among adolescents, younger and older adults. , 2013, Addiction.

[18]  A. Schindler.  Bindung und Sucht , 2005 .

[19]  Stephan Buschkämper,et al.  Der Bielefelder Fragebogen zu Partnerschaftserwartungen , 2002 .

[20]  H. Sueki,et al.  Suicide Bulletin Board Systems Comparison Between Japan and Germany , 2012, Death studies.

[21]  Regina J. J. M. van den Eijnden,et al.  Predicting Compulsive Internet Use: It's All about Sex! , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[22]  R. Rosenthal,et al.  Meta-analytic methods, the Rorschach, and the MMPI. , 2001, Psychological assessment.

[23]  John Suler,et al.  The Online Disinhibition Effect , 2004, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

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

[25]  Tom Foster,et al.  Adverse Life Events Proximal to Adult Suicide: A Synthesis of Findings from Psychological Autopsy Studies , 2011, Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research.

[26]  N. Szajnberg.  On: Attachment theory and psychoanalysis. , 2007, The International journal of psycho-analysis.

[27]  C. Eichenberg,et al.  An Empirical Analysis of Internet Message Boards for Self-Harming Behavior , 2017, Archives of suicide research : official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research.

[28]  Nicola Döring,et al.  Sozialpsychologie des Internet: die Bedeutung des Internet für Kommunikationsprozesse, Identitäten, soziale Beziehungen und Gruppen , 1999 .

[29]  J. Rabe-Jabłońska,et al.  [Affective disorders in the fourth edition of the classification of mental disorders prepared by the American Psychiatric Association -- diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders]. , 1993, Psychiatria polska.

[30]  Yasmina Borhani.  Substance Abuse and Insecure Attachment Styles: A Relational Study , 2013 .

[31]  A. Weinstein,et al.  New developments on the neurobiological and pharmaco-genetic mechanisms underlying internet and videogame addiction. , 2015, The American journal on addictions.

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

[33]  Shannon K. Gilmartin,et al.  Assessing Response Rates and Nonresponse Bias in Web and Paper Surveys , 2003 .

[34]  M. Griffiths,et al.  A Systematic Review of Online Sex Addiction and Clinical Treatments Using CONSORT Evaluation , 2015, Current Addiction Reports.

[35]  Wolfgang Dau,et al.  Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Problematic Internet Use—Experiences from Germany , 2015 .

[36]  Conor Mc Guckin,et al.  Tackling cyberbullying: Review of empirical evidence regarding successful responses by students, parents and schools , 2012 .

[37]  C. Ko,et al.  Brain activities associated with gaming urge of online gaming addiction. , 2009, Journal of psychiatric research.