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The relationship between impulsivity and Internet addiction in a sample of Chinese adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2007

Fenglin Cao ,
Linyan Su ,
TieQiao Liu  and
Xueping Gao
Fenglin Cao
Affiliation:
The 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan410011, P.R. China School of Nursing, Shandong University, No. 44 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, Shandong250012, P.R. China
Linyan Su*
Affiliation:
The 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan410011, P.R. China
TieQiao Liu
Affiliation:
The 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan410011, P.R. China
Xueping Gao
Affiliation:
The 2nd Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan410011, P.R. China
*
∗Corresponding author. Tel./fax: 86 731 5531781. E-mail address: caofenglin@gmail.com (L. Su).
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Abstract

Objective

Previous studies regarding internet addiction have investigated associated psychological variables such as shyness, loneliness, self-consciousness, anxiety, depression and interpersonal relations. Few studies about the relationship between internet Addiction and impulsivity have been done. This study aimed to assess whether internet addiction is related to impulsivity among Chinese adolescents.

Method

This study was performed in two stages. We screened for the presence of internet Addiction among 2620 high school students(age ranging from 12 years to 18 years) from four high schools of Changsha City using Diagnostic Questionnaire for internet Addiction (YDQ). According to the modified YDQ criteria by Beard, 64 students were diagnosed as internet addiction. Excluding current psychiatric comorbidity, 50 students who were diagnosed as internet Addiction (mean age, 14.8 ± 1.4 years) and 50 normal students in internet usage(mean age, 14.5 ± 1.8 years) were included in a case control study. The two groups were assessed using Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11) and behavioral measure of impulsivity (GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm).

Results

Sixty-four students met the modified YDQ criteria by Beard, of whom 14 students suffered from comorbid psychiatric disorders, especially comorbid ADHD. The internet Addiction group had significantly higher scores on the BIS-11 subscales of Attentional key, Motor key, and Total scores than the control group (P < 0.05). The internet Addiction group scored higher than the control group on the failure to inhibit responses of GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm (P < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between YDQ scores and BIS-11subscales and the number of failure to inhibit responses of GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm.

Conclusion

This study suggests that adolescents with internet addiction exhibit more impulsivity than controls and have various comorbid psychiatric disorders, which could be associated with the psychopathology of internet addiction.

Keywords

internetDisorders of environmental originBehaviorAddictionImpulsivityAdolescents
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 22 , Issue 7 , October 2007 , pp. 466 - 471
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2007

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Footnotes

Abbreviations: YDQ, Diagnostic Questionnaire for internet Addiction; BIS-11, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11; GoStop, GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm.

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