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.
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.
Authors: Esther Strittmatter; Peter Parzer; Romuald Brunner; Gloria Fischer; Tony Durkee; Vladimir Carli; Christina W Hoven; Camilla Wasserman; Marco Sarchiapone; Danuta Wasserman; Franz Resch; Michael Kaess Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2015-11-02 Impact factor: 4.785