Abstract
Aims: This study aimed to investigate in a gender-sensitive manner factors related to at-risk/problematic Internet use (ARPIU) in a sample of young Korean adolescents. Given prior findings, we hypothesized we would observe specific temperamental, social and biological measures that would statistically predict ARPIU in boys and girls, respectively.Method: Subjects included 653 middle-school students from Chuncheon, Korea who completed measures assessing Internet addiction, mood, temperament, and social interactions. Finger digit (2D:4D) ratios were also assessed. Chi-square and logistic regression models were conducted.Results: Among boys and girls, the ARPIU and non-ARPIU groups showed differences in temperament, mood, social tendencies, and gaming behaviors. In boys, IAT correlated inversely with the 2D:4D digit ratio and novelty-seeking and positively with reward-dependence scores when controlling for BDI scores; these relationships were not found in girls. Multivariate analyses showed that among boys, novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, self-transcendence, and daily time spent gaming statistically predicted ARPIU. Among girls, daily time spent gaming, number of best friends, self-directedness, and cooperation statistically predicted ARPIU.Conclusion: ARPIU was linked to specific temperamental, behavioral and biological characteristics, with specific relationships observed in boys and girls. Specific risk factors may exist for boys and girls with respect to their propensities to developing ARPIU, suggesting the need for gender-sensitive approaches to prevent ARPIU in youth.
Highlights
Concerns have been raised that specific types and patterns of Internet use may be problematic for adolescents and their development, and specific youth may be vulnerable to developing problematic Internet use (PIU)
The at-risk problematic Internet use (ARPIU) and non-ARPIU differed on Internet-use-related characteristics, with the ARPIU group being more likely to report gaming, having experience buying gaming items, feeling like they were addicted to the Internet, and having felt a need to cut back on their Internet use (Table 1)
Internet Addiction Test (IAT) scores correlated with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, scores on all subscales of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI), and the second digit length (2D):fourth digit length (4D) digit ratio in the overall sample (Table 3). These findings extended to both boys and girls with the exception of novelty seeking, self-transcendence, and 2D:4D ratio in girls not being significant at p < 0.05 (Table 3)
Summary
Concerns have been raised that specific types and patterns of Internet use may be problematic for adolescents and their development, and specific youth may be vulnerable to developing problematic Internet use (PIU). PIU has been reported to approximately two-fold more frequent in males as compared to females [1, 2], other studies report less robust gender-related differences in prevalence [3]. Boys and girls differ with respect to types of online activities performed; for example, boys may spend more time gaming and girls may spend more time chatting and blogging [4]. The latter findings suggest that PIU in girls may related to social factors, consistent with females as compared with males tending to report more problems with social networking [5]. Using the TCI, PIU in boys was linked to high novelty-seeking and harm-avoidance and low reward-dependence, and in girls PIU was linked to high harm-avoidance, low reward-dependence and cooperativeness [8]
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