Abstract
Internet use-related addiction problems are increasingly being recognized on a European scale due to international health organizations considering gaming addiction. In April 2013, the American Psychiatric Association recognized Internet Gaming Disorder in the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and in April 2018, the World Health Organization included Gaming Disorder in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases. However, findings on these problems within this period are lacking in Europe, and a preventive approach is missing globally. A detailed critical literature review was conducted using PsycINFO and Web of Science in this five-year period. A total of 19 studies were reviewed and problems identified were: generalized Internet addiction and online gaming and gambling addictions across seven European countries (i.e., Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, The Netherlands, and Denmark). The individuals with problematic use were found to be educated adolescents, usually young males with comorbid disorders, and gaming and gambling disorders were implicated in the most severe cases. Cognitive behavioral therapy was the main treatment, sometimes combined with a systemic approach for adolescents. Prevalence, high-risk populations, and factors contributing to these addiction problems are discussed, and a set of policy options are developed for this region. The implications for early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in Europe are considered.
Highlights
Contemporary use of the Internet has led to a number of benefits in the health field, and negative impacts at an individual and psychological level.Excessive Internet use has been classed in the mid-nineties as Internet Addiction (IA) [1], Problematic Internet Use (PIU) [2], or as technological addiction [3]
Data were initially organized into four main categories which emerged in the qualitative analysis of initially the 19 European empirical papers the two co-authors byqualitative categories
Data were organized into four mainundertaken categoriesby which emerged in the analysis of the 19 European empirical papers undertaken by the two co-authors by categories
Summary
Excessive Internet use has been classed in the mid-nineties as Internet Addiction (IA) [1], Problematic Internet Use (PIU) [2], or as technological (behavioral) addiction [3] This broad term, has evolved and at present encompasses many types of addiction problems related to generalized Internet addiction (GIA) and a set of specific addictive uses of the Internet [4]. These include online gambling, online gaming, social networking, and cybersex, which are the most prevalent ones that have evolved alongside gaming addiction [5]. During the last decade, the Internet has facilitated the development of addiction problems through online technology in many ways, and is associated with health problems (e.g., distress, functional impairment, and comorbidity [6])
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