Changes in Quality of Life, Gaming Behavior, and Physical Activity and Their Interrelationships During the Initial Stages of the Pandemic – A Longitudinal Study Among Norwegian University Students

There is limited knowledge about longitudinal trends and the interrelations between problematic gaming, physical activity, and quality of life among university students during the Covid-19 pandemic. As society was faced with unprecedented social restrictions, these aspects may have developed in an unfavorable manner, which is important to address from a public health perspective. To contribute essential knowledge regarding the development of problematic gaming, physical activity, and quality of life in the initial stages of the pandemic among Norwegian students and their temporal interrelations. This thesis derives from the ‘Students’ Psychological Health Over Time’ study – a joint effort from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Bergen. Linear mixed methods examined the development from January 2020 to November 2020 and gender differences. Cross-lagged analyses obtained the temporal interrelations across time and assessed gender differences within these. The sample exhibited decreased physical activity and quality of life over time. Men reported reduced problematic gaming. There were mutual negative temporal associations between physical activity and problematic gaming. There was a negative association between problematic gaming at t – 1 and quality of life at t. This association lost statistical significance after adjusting for covariates age, gender, socioeconomic status, and partner status. Quality of life was a stronger association for later problematic gaming behavior in men than women. The findings highlight negative development in physical activity and quality of life, some gender differences, and temporal interrelations in the initial phases of the pandemic. These changes must be accounted for when implementing measures to facilitate healthy development in university students.Masteroppgave i helsefremmende arbeid og helsepsykologiHEFR395MAPS-HEF

Testing Longitudinal Relationships between Internet Addiction and Well-Being in Hong Kong Adolescents: Cross-Lagged Analyses Based on Three Waves of Data

Using a panel design, this study examined the prospective relationships between Internet addiction and life satisfaction as well as hopelessness in a representative sample of Hong Kong adolescents. Starting from 2009/10 academic year, 3328 Secondary 1 students in 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in this longitudinal study (Mean age = 12.59 years; SD = 0.74 years). All participants responded to a questionnaire that includes the Internet Addiction Test, Life Satisfaction Scale, and Hopelessness Scale on a yearly basis. Cross-lagged analyses based on three waves of data collected during three junior adolescent years showed that Internet addiction measured at Time 1 predicted poor life satisfaction and hopelessness at Time 2, but not vice versa. Similarly, Internet addiction at Time 2 predicted low life satisfaction at Time 3, and the cross-lagged effects of life satisfaction and hopelessness on Internet addiction from Time 2 to Time 3 remained non-significant. The findings support the thesis that poor personal well-being in adolescents is the consequence rather than the cause of Internet addictive behaviors. To improve quality of life and prevent suicidality in adolescents, strategies that help reduce addictive behaviors related to the Internet should be considered

Adolescent internet abuse. A study on the role of attachment to parents and peers in a large community sample

Adolescents are the main users of new technologies and theirmain purpose of use is social interaction. Although new technologies are useful to teenagers, in addressing their developmental tasks, recent studies have shown that they may be an obstacle in their growth. Research shows that teenagers with Internet addiction experience lower quality in their relationships with parents and more individual difficulties. However, limited research is available on the role played by adolescents' attachment to parents and peers, considering their psychological profiles.We evaluated in a large community sample of adolescents (N= 1105) the Internet use/abuse, the adolescents' attachment to parents and peers, and their psychological profiles. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to verify the influence of parental and peer attachment on Internet use/abuse, considering the moderating effect of adolescents' psychopathological risk. Results showed that adolescents' attachment to parents had a significant effect on Internet use. Adolescents' psychopathological risk had a moderating effect on the relationship between attachment to mothers and Internet use. Our study shows that further research is needed, taking into account both individual and family variables

Media use during adolescence: the recommendations of the Italian Pediatric Society.

BACKGROUND: The use of media device, such as smartphone and tablet, is currently increasing, especially among the youngest. Adolescents spend more and more time with their smartphones consulting social media, mainly Facebook, Instagram and Twitter because. Adolescents often feel the necessity to use a media device as a means to construct a social identity and express themselves. For some children, smartphone ownership starts even sooner as young as 7 yrs, according to internet safety experts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed the evidence on media use and its consequences in adolescence. RESULTS: In literature, smartphones and tablets use may negatively influences the psychophysical development of the adolescent, such as learning, sleep and sigh. Moreover, obesity, distraction, addiction, cyberbullism and Hikikomori phenomena are described in adolescents who use media device too frequently. The Italian Pediatric Society provide action-oriented recommendations for families and clinicians to avoid negative outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Both parents and clinicians should be aware of the widespread phenomenon of media device use among adolescents and try to avoid psychophysical consequences on the youngest

Reciprocal relationships between trajectories of loneliness and screen media use during adolescence

Adolescence is the peak period for loneliness. Now a ubiquitous part of the adolescent landscape, electronic screens may provide avenues for ameliorating feelings of loneliness. Conversely, they may act as risk factors for the development of such feelings. Although cross-sectional studies to date have investigated the relationship between screen use and loneliness, longitudinal studies are needed if causal and directional associations are to be investigated. Utilising an accelerated longitudinal design and online survey we collected four waves of data from 1919 secondary school adolescents aged 10–15 years over two years. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models tested whether changes in five types of screen use (i.e., total screen time, social media use, gaming, passive screen use, and web use) are associated with changes in loneliness in the subsequent time-point, or changes in loneliness are associated with changes in screen use in the subsequent time-point. We found significant reciprocal associations between screen use and loneliness, with the strongest associations between social networking and electronic gaming and quality of friendships. These findings highlight that any significant increase in an adolescent's screen use may be a potential indicator of changes in quality of friendships or feelings of isolation

“Using digital media or sleeping … that is the question”. A meta-analysis on digital media use and unhealthy sleep in adolescence

This systematic review with meta-analysis aims to examine the relation between different aspects of digital media use and sleep health patterns. Eligible studies had to be longitudinal and with adolescents' sample. Multiple search strategies were applied until January 28, 2023 in order to identify relevant research published in peer-reviewed journal articles or available grey literature. A final set of 23 studies (N = 116,431; 53.2% female; Mage at baseline = 13.4 years) were included. The quality of the studies, assessed with an adapted version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, was high with a consequent low risk of bias. Meta-analytic results showed that tradi-tional media use (r =-0.33 [-0.44;-0.22]), social media use (r =-0.12 [-0.22;-0.01]), prolonged use (r = -0.06 [-0.11;-0.01]), and dysfunctional use (r =-0.19 [-0.29;-0.09]) are negatively related to adolescents' sleep health at a later time point. Conversely, sleep patterns were not related to social media use (r =-.05 [-0.10; 0.00]) and utilization time (r =-0.13 [-0.30; 0.04]), but they were related to dysfunctional use of media (r = -0.22 [-0.33; -0.10]). Overall, this review highlights the presence of a vicious cycle between digital media use and sleep health in adolescence

The relationship between internet addiction and mental health problems such as depression symptoms, anxiety and insomnia before and during Covid-19 pandemic

Introduction: On the account of the Covid-19 pandemic, many governments around the world have imposed multiple restrictions on public life to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Social disruption and forced isolation contributed to increased stress as well as increased use of the Internet.Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health problems, including Internet addiction, and to link Internet addiction with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression symptoms and insomnia.Material and methods: The data for the article was found using the PubMed and Google Scholar websites.Description of the state of knowledge: Internet addiction (IA) is becoming an increasingly serious problem of the modern world. The problem of Internet abuse is associated with various risk factors that are dependent on gender or family relationships, as well as mental disorders.Many studies have confirmed that the Covid-19 pandemic caused negative mental health effects, contributing to increased anxiety and depression symptoms. To reduce stress, people started using the internet more often. This compensatory mechanism can cause even more mental health problems by increasing anxiety, symptoms of depression and insomnia.Summary: Research by many scientists shows that the Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating the mental health problems associated with IA. Research shows that during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is especially important to be able to manage stress through non-internet-related activities to help prevent IA

The effectiveness of asking behaviors among 9-11 year-old children in increasing home availability and children's intake of fruit and vegetables : results from the Squire's Quest II self-regulation game intervention

Background: Home environment has an important influence on children's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, but children may in turn also impact their home FV environment, e.g. by asking for FV. The Squire's Quest II serious game intervention aimed to increase asking behaviors to improve home FV availability and children's FV intake. This study's aims were to assess: 1) did asking behaviors at baseline predict home FV availability at baseline (T0) (RQ1); 2) were asking behaviors and home FV availability influenced by the intervention (RQ2); 3) did increases in asking behaviors predict increased home FV availability (RQ3); and 4) did increases in asking behaviors and increases in home FV availability mediate increases in FV intake among children (RQ4)? Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a study using a randomized controlled trial, with 4 groups (each n = 100 child-parent dyads). All groups were analyzed together for this paper since groups did not vary on components relevant to our analysis. All children and parents (n = 400 dyads) received a self-regulation serious game intervention and parent material. The intervention ran for three months. Measurements were taken at baseline, immediately after intervention and at 3-month follow-up. Asking behavior and home FV availability were measured using questionnaires; child FV intake was measured using 24-h dietary recalls. ANCOVA methods (research question 1), linear mixed-effect models (research question 2), and Structural Equation Modeling (research questions 3 and 4) were used. Results: Baseline child asking behaviors predicted baseline home FV availability. The intervention increased child asking behaviors and home FV availability. Increases in child asking behaviors, however, did not predict increased home FV availability. Increased child asking behaviors and home FV availability also did not mediate the increases in child FV intake. Conclusions: Children influence their home FV environment through their asking behaviors, which can be enhanced via a serious game intervention. The obtained increases in asking behavior were, however, insufficient to affect home FV availability or intake. Other factors, such as child preferences, sample characteristics, intervention duration and parental direct involvement may play a role and warrant examination in future research

Unraveling problematic smartphone use:The good and the bad through longitudinal, qualitative and psychometric perspectives

In an era where smartphones have become ubiquitous, discerning the fine line between normal smartphone use and Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) is critical. This dissertation investigates the dual nature of smartphone use, delineating its positive and negative consequences, defining PSU comprehensively, and exploring its etiology through a mixed-methods approach. This approach involves a longitudinal study, an in-depth qualitative exploration, and the development of the Smartphone Use Problems Identification Questionnaire (SUPIQ). Chapter 2 presents findings from a longitudinal study with 2100 Dutch high school students, examining the bidirectional relationship between PSU and adolescent peer engagement. The study identifies individuals with low perceived competence in close friendships and those who intensively engage with smartphones for peer communication as particularly vulnerable to PSU. Chapter 3 offers a qualitative exploration of PSU symptoms and possible etiology, finding the similarities and differences between PSU and established addiction criteria and highlighting the trade-off process between smartphones’ positive and negative consequences. Building on these insights, Chapter 4 details the development and validation of the SUPIQ through the analysis of two distinct samples. The SUPIQ demonstrated strong construct validity and superior predictive power for mental health problems. This thesis illuminates the intricate interplay of social, motivational, and normative factors in PSU, enriching the discourse on digital well-being. We argue for interventions that promote digital well-being through a balanced approach to smartphone use rather than advocating for its elimination, offering valuable perspectives on navigating the complexities of smartphone integration into daily life