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COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates

OBJECTIVE: During and after the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic period, a strain was put on young adults who have taken refuge in the problematic use of internet, social media, gaming, and gambling. This paper aims to investigate possible correlates of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), hypothesi...

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Autores principales: Scafuto, Francesca, Ciacchini, Rebecca, Orrù, Graziella, Crescentini, Cristiano, Conversano, Ciro, Mastorci, Francesca, Porricelli, Marika, Gemignani, Angelo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10544255/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37791079
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230403
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author Scafuto, Francesca
Ciacchini, Rebecca
Orrù, Graziella
Crescentini, Cristiano
Conversano, Ciro
Mastorci, Francesca
Porricelli, Marika
Gemignani, Angelo
author_facet Scafuto, Francesca
Ciacchini, Rebecca
Orrù, Graziella
Crescentini, Cristiano
Conversano, Ciro
Mastorci, Francesca
Porricelli, Marika
Gemignani, Angelo
author_sort Scafuto, Francesca
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: During and after the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic period, a strain was put on young adults who have taken refuge in the problematic use of internet, social media, gaming, and gambling. This paper aims to investigate possible correlates of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), hypothesizing anxiety, depression and perceived stress would promote addiction, while mindfulness skills, resilience and socialization would, conversely, hamper IAD, and promote, consequently, a more functional internet use. METHOD: A pilot study was carried out with a sample of 31 young adults, recruited through a snowball sampling using social networks. Participants filled out an online questionnaire including the following measures: Internet Use, Abuse and Addiction (UADI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ); Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); Resilience Scale (RS-14). It was also administered an ad hoc questionnaire for the assessment of socialization behaviour (6 items) and gambling (2 items). RESULTS: All the measures, but socialization, showed adequate reliability. Our sample showed high levels of anxiety, stress, IA and gambling, while presenting low levels of resilience, the mindful skill of no-reactivity and socialization. The first hypothesis was confirmed, finding positive and significant correlations between Internet Addiction on one side and PSS, STAI-Y1, STAY-2, and BDI II on the other side. We also partially confirmed the second hypothesis about UADI negatively correlated with both RS-14 and Mindful Acting. Finally, no correlations were found between Gambling and IA. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the more one perceives an emotional overload with less stress-control, high anxiety, and depression, and the less one can leverage on the skills of mindful acting and resilience, the more one uses the internet as a strategy to escape from a threatening reality.
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spelling pubmed-105442552023-10-03 COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates Scafuto, Francesca Ciacchini, Rebecca Orrù, Graziella Crescentini, Cristiano Conversano, Ciro Mastorci, Francesca Porricelli, Marika Gemignani, Angelo Clin Neuropsychiatry Research Paper OBJECTIVE: During and after the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic period, a strain was put on young adults who have taken refuge in the problematic use of internet, social media, gaming, and gambling. This paper aims to investigate possible correlates of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), hypothesizing anxiety, depression and perceived stress would promote addiction, while mindfulness skills, resilience and socialization would, conversely, hamper IAD, and promote, consequently, a more functional internet use. METHOD: A pilot study was carried out with a sample of 31 young adults, recruited through a snowball sampling using social networks. Participants filled out an online questionnaire including the following measures: Internet Use, Abuse and Addiction (UADI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ); Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); Resilience Scale (RS-14). It was also administered an ad hoc questionnaire for the assessment of socialization behaviour (6 items) and gambling (2 items). RESULTS: All the measures, but socialization, showed adequate reliability. Our sample showed high levels of anxiety, stress, IA and gambling, while presenting low levels of resilience, the mindful skill of no-reactivity and socialization. The first hypothesis was confirmed, finding positive and significant correlations between Internet Addiction on one side and PSS, STAI-Y1, STAY-2, and BDI II on the other side. We also partially confirmed the second hypothesis about UADI negatively correlated with both RS-14 and Mindful Acting. Finally, no correlations were found between Gambling and IA. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the more one perceives an emotional overload with less stress-control, high anxiety, and depression, and the less one can leverage on the skills of mindful acting and resilience, the more one uses the internet as a strategy to escape from a threatening reality. Giovanni Fioriti Editore srl 2023-08 /pmc/articles/PMC10544255/ /pubmed/37791079 http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230403 Text en © 2023 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l. This is an open access article. Distribution and reproduction are permitted in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Paper
Scafuto, Francesca
Ciacchini, Rebecca
Orrù, Graziella
Crescentini, Cristiano
Conversano, Ciro
Mastorci, Francesca
Porricelli, Marika
Gemignani, Angelo
COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title_full COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title_fullStr COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title_short COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates
title_sort covid-19 pandemic and internet addiction in young adults: a pilot study on positive and negative psychosocial correlates
topic Research Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10544255/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37791079
http://dx.doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230403
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