Abstract
BackgroundsInternet addiction (IA) has become a major public health issue worldwide and is closely linked to psychiatric disorders and suicide. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IA and its associated psychosocial and psychopathological determinants among internet users across different age groups.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional survey initiated by the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center. The participants were recruited from the general public who responded to the online questionnaire. They completed a series of self-reported measures, including Chen Internet Addiction Scale-revised (CIAS-R), Five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), and questions about suicide and internet use habits.ResultsWe enrolled 1100 respondents with a preponderance of female subjects (85.8%). Based on an optimal cutoff for CIAS-R (67/68), the prevalence rate of IA was 10.6%. People with higher scores of CIAS-R were characterized as: male, single, students, high neuroticism, life impairment due to internet use, time for internet use, online gaming, presence of psychiatric morbidity, recent suicide ideation and past suicide attempts. Multiple regression on IA showed that age, gender, neuroticism, life impairment, internet use time, and BSRS-5 score accounted for 31% of variance for CIAS-R score. Further, logistic regression showed that neuroticism, life impairment and internet use time were three main predictors for IA. Compared to those without IA, the internet addicts had higher rates of psychiatric morbidity (65.0%), suicide ideation in a week (47.0%), lifetime suicide attempts (23.1%), and suicide attempt in a year (5.1%).ConclusionNeurotic personality traits, psychopathology, time for internet use and its subsequent life impairment were important predictors for IA. Individuals with IA may have higher rates of psychiatric morbidity and suicide risks. The findings provide important information for further investigation and prevention of IA.
Highlights
Increasing use of smart phones, tablets, and computers has made internet an indispensable part in modern society
They completed a series of self-reported measures, including Chen Internet Addiction Scale-revised (CIAS-R), Five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI), and questions about suicide and internet use habits
Multiple regression on internet addiction (IA) showed that age, gender, neuroticism, life impairment, internet use time, and BSRS-5 score accounted for 31% of variance for CIAS-R score
Summary
Increasing use of smart phones, tablets, and computers has made internet an indispensable part in modern society. The negative impact of excessive, maladaptive or addictive internet use has attracted much research attention. Internet addiction (IA) has become a major public health issue worldwide and brought about a dramatic proliferation of research in this area [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The user cannot self-control the use of internet, resulting in significant impairments at school, home, work, health or interpersonal relationships [1]. They may find it difficult to stop using the internet due to its anonymity, convenience and accessibility and may use it as a way to escape reality [9]. The types of activity involved in IA include online gaming, social networking, online gambling, online shopping, virtual sex and information overload
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