Treatment outcomes using CBT-IA with Internet-addicted patients

Background and Aims: Internet Gaming Disorder, a subtype of Internet Addiction, is now classified in Section 3 of the DSM-5. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been suggested in treating Internet addiction as this modality has been shown to be an effective treatment for similar impulse control disorders. Given the daily and necessary use of the Internet and technology in general compared to other compulsive syndromes, a specialized form of CBT has been developed called Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Internet Addiction (CBT-IA). CBT-IA is a comprehensive three phase approach that includes behavior modification to control compulsive Internet use, cognitive restructuring to identify, challenge, and modify cognitive distortions that lead to addictive use, and harm reduction techniques to address and treat co-morbid issues associated with the disorder. Methods: As the first model of its kind, this study examines 128 clients to measure treatment outcomes using CBT-IA. Clients were evaluated using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) to classify subjects and were administered twelve weekly sessions of CBT-IA. Treatment outcomes were measured at the end of the twelve weeks, one-month, three months and at six month post-treatment. Results: Results showed that over 95% of clients were able to manage symptoms at the end of the twelve weeks and 78% sustained recovery six months following treatment. Discussion and Conclusions: Results found that CBT-IA was effective at ameliorating symptoms associated with Internet addiction after twelve weekly sessions and consistently over one-month, three months, and six months after therapy. Further research implications such as investigating long-term outcome effects of the model with larger client populations and treatment differences among the subtypes of Internet addiction or with other cultural populations using CBT-IA are discussed

Psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test in Turkish

Background and aims In this study, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was adapted to Turkish language, which was originally developed by Young (1998) in English to measure the presence and severity of the Internet dependency. The main purpose was to ensure that the psychometric features and the factor structure of the test were suitable for Turkish university students. Method The study was conducted in two sequent phases. Participants were 990 undergraduate students from several public universities in Turkey. Results In the first phase, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to figure out the factor structure of the Turkish version of the IAT. The EFA revealed four factors, which explained 46.02% of the total variance. In the following phase, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with a different sample, to verify the factor structure that was found in the initial EFA. The CFA resulted four-factor model was satisfactory for the Turkish version of the IAT. These four factors were named as Mood, Relationship, Responsibilities, and Duration. Conclusions Based on the findings, the administration of Turkish version of the IAT provided acceptable results on undergraduate students

Understanding Perceptions of Problematic Facebook Use: When People Experience Negative Life Impact and a Lack of Control

While many people use social network sites to connect with friends and family, some feel that their use is problematic, seriously affecting their sleep, work, or life. Pairing a survey of 20,000 Facebook users measuring perceptions of problematic use with behavioral and demographic data, we examined Facebook activities associated with problematic use as well as the kinds of people most likely to experience it. People who feel their use is problematic are more likely to be younger, male, and going through a major life event such as a breakup. They spend more time on the platform, particularly at night, and spend proportionally more time looking at profiles and less time browsing their News Feeds. They also message their friends more frequently. While they are more likely to respond to notifications, they are also more likely to deactivate their accounts, perhaps in an effort to better manage their time. Further, they are more likely to have seen content about social media or phone addiction. Notably, people reporting problematic use rate the site as more valuable to them, highlighting the complex relationship between technology use and well-being. A better understanding of problematic Facebook use can inform the design of context-appropriate and supportive tools to help people become more in control.Comment: CHI 201

Integrating psychological and neurobiological considerations regarding the development and maintenance of specific Internet-use disorders: An Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model

AbstractWithin the last two decades, many studies have addressed the clinical phenomenon of Internet-use disorders, with a particular focus on Internet-gaming disorder. Based on previous theoretical considerations and empirical findings, we suggest an Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model of specific Internet-use disorders. The I-PACE model is a theoretical framework for the processes underlying the development and maintenance of an addictive use of certain Internet applications or sites promoting gaming, gambling, pornography viewing, shopping, or communication. The model is composed as a process model. Specific Internet-use disorders are considered to be the consequence of interactions between predisposing factors, such as neurobiological and psychological constitutions, moderators, such as coping styles and Internet-related cognitive biases, and mediators, such as affective and cognitive responses to situational triggers in combination with reduced executive functioning. Conditioning processes may strengthen these associations within an addiction process. Although the hypotheses regarding the mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of specific Internet-use disorders, summarized in the I-PACE model, must be further tested empirically, implications for treatment interventions are suggested

Self-Control in Cyberspace: Applying Dual Systems Theory to a Review of Digital Self-Control Tools

Many people struggle to control their use of digital devices. However, our understanding of the design mechanisms that support user self-control remains limited. In this paper, we make two contributions to HCI research in this space: first, we analyse 367 apps and browser extensions from the Google Play, Chrome Web, and Apple App stores to identify common core design features and intervention strategies afforded by current tools for digital self-control. Second, we adapt and apply an integrative dual systems model of self-regulation as a framework for organising and evaluating the design features found. Our analysis aims to help the design of better tools in two ways: (i) by identifying how, through a well-established model of self-regulation, current tools overlap and differ in how they support self-control; and (ii) by using the model to reveal underexplored cognitive mechanisms that could aid the design of new tools.Comment: 11.5 pages (excl. references), 6 figures, 1 tabl

Context-Dependent Medicinal Effects of Anabasine and Infection-Dependent Toxicity in Bumble Bees

Background Floral phytochemicals are ubiquitous in nature, and can function both as antimicrobials and as insecticides. Although many phytochemicals act as toxins and deterrents to consumers, the same chemicals may counteract disease and be preferred by infected individuals. The roles of nectar and pollen phytochemicals in pollinator ecology and conservation are complex, with evidence for both toxicity and medicinal effects against parasites. However, it remains unclear how consistent the effects of phytochemicals are across different parasite lineages and environmental conditions, and whether pollinators actively self-medicate with these compounds when infected. Approach Here, we test effects of the nectar alkaloid anabasine, found in Nicotiana, on infection intensity, dietary preference, and survival and performance of bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). We examined variation in the effects of anabasine on infection with different lineages of the intestinal parasite Crithidia under pollen-fed and pollen-starved conditions. Results We found that anabasine did not reduce infection intensity in individual bees infected with any of four Crithidia lineages that were tested in parallel, nor did anabasine reduce infection intensity in microcolonies of queenless workers. In addition, neither anabasine nor its isomer, nicotine, was preferred by infected bees in choice experiments, and infected bees consumed less anabasine than did uninfected bees under no-choice conditions. Furthermore, anabasine exacerbated the negative effects of infection on bee survival and microcolony performance. Anabasine reduced infection in only one experiment, in which bees were deprived of pollen and post-pupal contact with nestmates. In this experiment, anabasine had antiparasitic effects in bees from only two of four colonies, and infected bees exhibited reduced—rather than increased—phytochemical consumption relative to uninfected bees. Conclusions Variation in the effect of anabasine on infection suggests potential modulation of tritrophic interactions by both host genotype and environmental variables. Overall, our results demonstrate that Bombus impatiens prefer diets without nicotine and anabasine, and suggest that the medicinal effects and toxicity of anabasine may be context dependent. Future research should identify the specific environmental and genotypic factors that determine whether nectar phytochemicals have medicinal or deleterious effects on pollinators