Psychiatric features of individuals with problematic internet use.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND: Problematic internet use has been described in the psychological literature as 'internet addiction' and 'pathological internet use'. However, there are no studies using face-to-face standardized psychiatric evaluations to identify behavioral characteristics, psychiatric comorbidity or family psychiatric history of individuals with this behavior. METHODS: Twenty individuals with problematic internet use were evaluated. Problematic internet use was defined as (1) uncontrollable, (2) markedly distressing, time-consuming or resulting in social, occupational or financial difficulties and (3) not solely present during hypomanic or manic symptoms. Evaluations included a semistructured interview about subjects' internet use, the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (SCID-IV), family psychiatric history and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) modified for internet use. RESULTS: All (100%) subjects' problematic internet use met DSM-IV criteria for an impulse control disorder (ICD) not otherwise specified (NOS). All 20 subjects had at least one lifetime DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis in addition to their problematic internet use (mean+/-SD=5.1+/-3.5 diagnoses); 14 (70.0%) had a lifetime diagnosis of bipolar disorder (with 12 having bipolar I disorder). LIMITATIONS: Methodological limitations of this study included its small sample size, evaluation of psychiatric diagnoses by unblinded investigators, and lack of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: Problematic internet use may be associated with subjective distress, functional impairment and Axis I psychiatric disorders.

Author information

Author/s: Shapira, N A (NA); Goldsmith, T D (TD); Keck, P E (PE); Khosla, U M (UM); McElroy, S L (SL);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100256, Gainesville, FL 32610-0256, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of affective disorders (J Affect Disord), published in NETHERLANDS. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2000 Jan-Mar; vol 57 (issue 1-3) : pp 267-72

Dates: Created 2000/05/16; Completed 2000/05/16; Revised 2009/09/28;

PMID: 10708842, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/28/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: J Affect Disord. 2001 Oct;66(2-3):283. (PMID: 11686127)

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