Depression, loneliness, anger behaviours and interpersonal relationship styles in male patients admitted to internet addiction outpatient clinic in Turkey

Background: 'Internet addiction' is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life of a person. We designed this study in order to evaluate the predictor effect of depression, loneliness, anger and interpersonal relationship styles for internet addiction as well as develop a model. Subjects and methods: Forty (40) male internet addicted patients were selected from our hospital's internet Addiction Outpatient Clinic. During the study, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State Trait Anger Expression Scale (STAXI), the UCLA-Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), and the Interpersonal Relationship Styles Scale (IRSS) were used for the evaluation of the patients. Results: The results of this study showed that the 'duration of internet use' (B=2.353, p=0.01) and STAXI 'anger in' subscale (B=1.487, p=0.01) were the predictors of internet addiction. Conclusion: When the clinicians suspect for the internet overuse, regulation of internet usage might be helpful. Psychiatric treatments for expressing anger and therapies that focus on validation of the feelings may be useful. © Medicinska naklada

Attachment and family functioning in patients with Internet addiction

Objective: Although the Internet is used effectively in many areas of life, some users experience problems because of over-use due to a lack of control. The diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction include disruptions in family relationships, but adequate data on the attachment styles and family functioning associated with this condition are limited. This study aimed to investigate the attachment styles and family functioning of patients with Internet addiction. Method: The sample included 30 male patients consecutively admitted to the Bakirköy Mental Health and Research Hospital Internet Addiction Outpatient Clinic, who were diagnosed in clinical interviews as having Internet addiction according to Young's (1998) criteria. Thirty healthy males who were matched with the experimental group in terms of sociodemographic characteristics were included as control subjects. Both groups provided sociodemographic data and completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire-r (ECR-r) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Results: Patients with Internet addiction had higher BDI scores (P< .001) and higher attachment anxiety subscores on ECR-r (P< .001) compared with those in the control group. Patients with Internet addiction evaluated their family functioning as more negative and reported problems in every aspect addressed by the FAD. Scores on the FAD behaviour control, affective responsiveness, and problem-solving subscales (P< .05) and on the FAD communication, roles, and general functioning subscales (P< .001) were significantly higher in the patient compared with the control group. Conclusion: Patients with Internet addiction have more anxious attachment styles as well as prominent disruptions in family functioning. Thus, it may be important to evaluate the attachment styles and family functioning of patients with Internet addiction. Indeed, comprehensive treatment approaches including other family members may make important contributions to treatment success. © 2014 Elsevier Inc

Two cases of excessive internet use with comorbid family relationship problems [Aşırı İnternet kullanımı nedeniyle aile İlişkileri bozulmuş olan İki İnternet bağımlılığı olgusu]

Although the internet is used effectively and beneficially in every aspect of life, several users have been experiencing some problems due to excessive and uncontrolled use. While the term “internet addiction” still remains controversial, disturbed family relationships are considered to be a diagnostic criterion. The use of the internet, even in non-excessive levels, is associated with disturbance in family and social life. As considering from systemic point of view; while family relationships may be disturbed with internet addiction, people who have problems with their family relationships also may use internet excessively. This case report is composed of both the cases with excessive internet usage and those who had problems in complying with the changes in their family systems following the decrease in duration of internet usage during the treatment process. © 2014 Galenos Yayinevi. All rights reserved

Psychometric properties of the metacognition scales about rumination in clinical and non-clinical Turkish samples

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Turkish adaptations of the Positive Beliefs about Rumination Scale (PBRS) and the Negative Beliefs about Rumination Scale (NBRS) in clinical and non-clinical samples. Method: While the non-clinical sample of the study consisted of 455 participants, the clinical sample was composed of 60 major depressive disorder (MDD), 30 panic disorder (PD) and 30 social anxiety disorder (SAD) cases. Results: The results of the factor analyses confirm the construct validity and original factor structure of the scales. Findings obtained from internal consistency and test-retest analyses indicated good reliability for the scales. Supporting the convergent validity of the scales, the correlations between metacognitions about rumination and depressive symptoms, rumination, metacognitions about worry, pathological worry, and anxiety symptoms were found to be positive and significant in the non-clinical sample. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that both scales have predictive validity for depressive symptoms after controlling for anxiety symptoms. As for extreme group comparisons, it supported the criterion-related validity of the scales. In discriminant clinical validity examinations, although both scales were able to differentiate MDD, PD, and SAD groups from healthy controls, they were unable to differentiate the depressive group from the other anxiety disorder groups. Conclusion: A comprehensive psychometric evaluation of the scales demonstrated that both PBRS and NBRS are reliable and valid assessment devices that can be used for research purposes both in clinical and non-clinical groups in Turkey