Mental Health
Which Components Explain the Change of Symptom Severity of Problematic Usage of the Internet? A 6-Month Follow-Up Investigation.
Open Access: Yes.
Abstract
Assumed components explaining the change of symptom severity in problematic usage of the internet are general predisposing factors including psychopathology (e.g., compulsivity, depression, anxiety, chronic stress) and behavior-specific factors (e.g., use expectancies, experience of gratification/compensation, usage time, habitual use). We screened for symptom severity based on ICD-11 and DSM-5 criteria and assessed all mentioned factors at baseline and in a 6-month follow-up (N = 574). Change scores of the predictors and whether participants received therapy explained about 20% of variance in symptom change scores; R2 = .199 for ICD-11 and R2 = .216 for DSM-5 criteria. Strongest predictors of symptom change were as follows: received therapy, avoidant use expectancies, time of use, habitual use, depression, compulsivity, and chronic stress. Results indicate that a decrease of symptom severity is related to decreased levels of variables associated with negative reinforcement mechanisms. Treatment, even if not addiction-specific, proved to be beneficial. The influence of external factors warrants further research.
Relevance
“We found that an increase of symptom severity is predicted by the increase of psychopathological symptoms of depression, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and chronic stress as well as by an increase of cognitive and behavior-specific factors, such as avoidant use expectancies, behavioral automatization, and usage time. We found especially negative reinforcing effects as driving factors for PUI: the learning that negative mood can be avoided through the use of specific internet applications (gaming, buying-shopping, pornography, social networks) which may then become more habitual and may lead to a higher usage time and may finally result in higher symptom severity of PUI.”
Citation
