Problematic Internet use among adults: A longitudinal European study.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cross-cultural research
• Digital health

Background:

• Limited longitudinal studies exist on problematic internet use (PIU) in adults.
• Cross-cultural investigations of PIU trajectories are scarce, particularly in adult European populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the longitudinal course and trajectory of problematic internet use (PIU) in a multi-country European adult sample.
• To compare PIU between at-risk and healthy users over a 12-month period.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal follow-up study with three data collection waves over 12 months (six-month intervals).
• Involved 139 adult participants from 11 European countries.
• Utilized analyses of variance to assess longitudinal effects on PIU symptoms.

Main Results:

• Significant longitudinal effects of time and user type on PIU symptoms were observed.
• At-risk users consistently reported higher PIU scores than healthy users across waves.
• Overall PIU scores decreased significantly over the one-year study period.

Conclusions:

• Problematic internet use (PIU) is generally low in the European adult population.
• PIU tends to decrease over a one-year period in adults, contrasting findings in adolescent populations.
• Detected PIU in adults exhibited mild addictive symptoms.