Excessive and pathological Internet use - Risk-behavior or psychopathology?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Adolescent Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) classifies pathological Internet use (gaming) as a mental disorder.
• A significant number of adolescents exhibit excessive Internet use, potentially representing adolescent risk-behavior.
• Distinguishing between pathological and excessive Internet use is crucial for accurate classification and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether pathological and excessive Internet use in adolescents should be classified as psychopathology or risk-behavior.
• To analyze the relationship between Internet use patterns and established factors of risk-behavior and psychopathology.
• To provide empirical evidence for the distinct nature of pathological versus excessive Internet use.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a representative, cross-sectional sample of 11,110 students from 10 European Union countries.
• Utilized structural equation models to test competing models of risk-behavior and psychopathology.
• Operationalized risk-behavior with factors like drug abuse and truancy; psychopathology with measures of depression and hyperactivity; excessive use by duration/frequency; pathological use via Young Diagnostic Questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Excessive Internet use showed significant loadings on both risk-behavior (λ=0.484) and psychopathology (λ=0.071), with stronger association to risk-behavior.
• Pathological Internet use demonstrated significant loadings on both risk-behavior (λ=0.333) and psychopathology (λ=0.852), with a substantially stronger association to psychopathology.
• Statistical comparisons confirmed excessive Internet use is more strongly linked to risk-behavior, while pathological Internet use is more strongly linked to psychopathology.

Conclusions:

• Pathological Internet use, characterized by addiction criteria, should be classified as a form of psychopathology.
• Excessive Internet use, defined by duration and frequency, aligns more closely with adolescent risk-behavior.
• Findings support distinct conceptualizations and potential interventions for different patterns of adolescent Internet engagement.