Internet use can cause depression in teenager

Healthy teenagers who use the Internet pathologically have over twice the risk of developing depression, according to a new study.

Although there is no clinical diagnosis for “internet addiction,” lead researcher Dr. Lawrence Lam, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia, said the closest model is problematic gambling, classified as “addictive” behavior.

Previous research has shown that depression is a factor in developing problematic Internet habits but this study is the first to examine the causal effects of problematic Internet use (PIU) on depression. The authors suggested PIU and mental health problems may share a common pathway.

Lam and colleagues assessed 1,041 Chinese teenagers, average age 15, who participated in the study for depression and anxiety as well as their internet usage. Sixty-two (6.2 percent) participants were classified with moderate PIU, while two adolescents (0.2 percent) were severely at risk. [Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010 Aug 2. Epub ahead of print]

The researchers used Young’s Internet Addiction Test, a common survey to assess high risk Internet users. The survey questioned participants about the role of the Internet in their lives, asking, for example, how often they neglect chores or forgo personal relationships in favor of time on the Internet, as well as whether they feel depressed or joyless when they are not logged on.

The final assessment at 9 months showed that 87 participants (8.4 percent) had developed depression.

After adjusting for age, sex, rural or urban school, family location, illness, physical activity, family dissatisfaction and study burden, the authors concluded that the risk of depression from PIU was about 2.5 times greater than for those participants who did not use the Internet pathologically.

The researchers found no relationship between PIU and anxiety.

Online games were the most common usage for at-risk Internet users, followed closely by social networking.

“It is likely that young people who get involved in online gaming are most at risk of PIU,” Lam said.

Despite the participant demographic, Lam said the results may be extrapolated to other populations.

“The results obtained from this study were not only applicable to Asian young people, they could be generalized to all young people who may be involved in high risk Internet behavior,” Lam said. “However, the results are particularly relevant to young people in Asia … because the prevalence of PIU among young people in Asia is much higher than that in the West.”

The study reported that Internet use among adolescents in Taiwan and China was nearly 11 percent in 2004, up from 6 percent in 2000.

Lam proposed several possible reasons for the association between PIU and depression. Lack of sleep is significantly related to depression and PIU often conflicts with sleep habits.

In addition, young people may be more emotionally reactive towards Internet content, particularly when playing online games, which are often competitive.

“Once they are in the ‘game world’ their emotion could be driven mostly by the game contents and their success in the game,” Lam said. “Failure in the game … is as real as failure in other parts of their life.”

Although it may be difficult to accurately profile someone at risk for PIU, Lam said theories about “addictive personalities” may be a rough way to identify people who are prone to succumb, similar to those at risk for substance abuse.

Source: Medical Tribune