DSM-4 Criteria For Internet-Related Disorders

Internet addiction has increased so highly that it has become a disorder for this reason the first residential treatment facility has been created in order to treat people who are addicted.

Internet addiction has become a huge problem in today’s society. In Greg Beato’s article, he discusses the growing phenomena of internet addiction disorder. The writer explains that more and more people are becoming addicted to the internet. For example, he tells of a teenager in Ohio, who shot and killed his mom and injured his dad because they took away his Xbox. He tells how it is stated that five to ten percent of the 52 million internet users were addicted. The author is telling us that the internet has become very addictive in our everyday society.

Internet addiction is now considered to be a “grave national health crisis”(Dokoupil 2012, 27). Several cases have emerged where people went completely insane due to the abuse of technology. This was to the extreme where two parents were so addicted to taking care of their virtual baby, they forgot about their real child. The infant was neglected to death. Another case is of a son who turns on his own mother when she suggests “he log[s] off”(27). As a response, the young man beats his mother until she eventually dies. These aren’t the only examples of insanity and for this reason, for the first time in history, “Internet Addiction Disorder will be included...in an

Various models have been designed to explain the how IAD develops in an individual and how it is then maintained. These models draw from different fields of psychology such to determine different theorised causes for the addiction such as biological factors (such as chemical imbalances making one more susceptible to addiction), psychological predispositions (such as other mental health problems or personality) and social factors (such as culture, socio-economic standing and acceptance of the Internet from others). Whilst these factors are dependant on the individual, some studies include the nature and attributes of the Internet itself. Some models include the cognitive-behavioural model of problematic Internet use, the access, affordability and anonymity engine, the anonymity, convenience and escape model and the comprehensive model of the development and maintenance of Internet addiction.

July of 2009 in Fall City, Washington, the first rehab center for Internet Addiction Disorder in the United States opened its doors. Yes, there is actually a rehab for that! One 19-year-old resident who was interviewed from the reSTART Rehab Center, compared the destruction of his internet addiction to alcoholism and drug addiction as he described how he had dropped out of school and had fought to get his life back together. Although Internet Addiction is not an official disorder and has yet to be included in the DSM-V, it is very real for an increasing number of young Americans struggling to regain control in their lives. Addiction to the internet has caused more and more young Americans to quit school, isolate themselves from family, and even lose their jobs. The internet has had a huge impact on the way most Americans today communicate. Although there are benefits, excessive use of the internet and social media has negatively impacted Americans which has led to problems like addiction, poor school and work performance, and less time spent with family.

Thus, the high-risk group shown in the “Hostility Online” study could be assessed as meeting some of the guidelines of internet addiction, but not being excessive enough. (Yen, Ju-Yu, et al). With the multiple scales and inventories used by both studies to examine if clinical factors contributed to internet addiction, the answer from the first study is that, “statistical analyses that included potential mediating variables (the BAI, BDI, and CASS) showed that clinical factors played mediating roles only when aggression predicted IAD and not vice versa”. (Yen, Ju-Yu, et al). This means that aggression when seen as a symptom of aggression is not bound by underlying clinical factors. Regardless of clinical factors, the data concerning the casual relationship still stands. This is also referenced in the first article when it mentions that, “In terms of demographic data, it was confirmed that adolescents in the Internet addiction group had higher scores on the BDI, BAI, and CASS than did those in the other two groups [high-risk user and standard user]” (Lim, Jae-A, et al). Therefore, the argument of clinical factors does not contradict with Internet addiction causing the aggressive behavior as examined by the BDI, BAI, and CASS

Ivan Goldberg first introduced IAD as disorder in 1995. He took pathological gambling, as diagnosed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), as his model for the description of IAD (Craparo, 2011). IAD receives attention in the academic research and the possible future classification of it as a psychological disorder continues to be researched and debated in the psychiatric community (shapira. et al., 2000). According to various research data sets, Internet connection is now especially significant risk for 12 to 18 age groups (Öztürk et al., 2007). In studies conducted on this issue, it is pointed out that adolescent males use the Internet more and get addicted more compared to their female counterparts. Some other studies on this issue in their study, Orhan and Akkoyunlu (2004) found that Internet use increased in puberty and adolescence as their

In the article, “The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good of kids Use of Social Media,” Jim Taylor gives us a definition of the phrase internet addiction. He states, “Internet addiction is commonly characterized as excessive use of internet that interferes with daily functioning and that can lead to distress or harm,”. The addiction from the internet surely has a price to pay. Internet addiction is harmful psychologically, addictions to the internet shouldn’t be our only concern when it comes to social media, and internet addiction has no age limit.

Under the new DSM-5 framework, Internet gaming disorder refers to the “persistent and recurrent use of the Internet to engage in games, often with other players, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress…” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The diagnostic symptoms include difficulty controlling use, continued use despite knowledge of psychosocial problems, using gaming to escape or relieve negative moods, loss of interest in other activities, and significant impact on relationships, work or education (Petry et al., 2014). There are 9 criteria for characterising a person with Internet gaming disorder and 5 out of the 9 criteria must be met within one year, such as preoccupation or obsession

How does Internet Addiction affect different aspects of an individual and the brain? Internet Addiction Disorder, abbreviated as IAD, is defined loosely as a pattern of addictedness to the use of the internet (Mosher). Chao and Hsiao defined IAD as “an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the internet, which eventually causes psychological, social, school, and/or work difficulties in a person’s life” (Akhter). Many reports believe that an individual may rely on the internet to avoid anxiety provoking situations like face to face interaction, or as a way to escape from reality. Dr. Orzack from The Clinical Associate in Psychology at McLean Hospital would say believe that it is not those who possess a computer that is exposed to the risk of addiction, but more of the depressed, lonely, impatient, or a recovering addict who are more exposed. The Internet is a helpful tool, but once it reaches a certain level of addiction, consequences will happen on many different aspects (Murali, George). IAD is becoming a bigger and bigger concern as the new generation is more dependent to the technology. Internet addiction affects the physical aspects of the brain and the individual, the mental or psychological aspects, the social aspects, and the intellectual aspects of an individual.

Although internet addiction disorder has not been added as of yet to the DSM hopes by the researchers are high that it will be added in the future editions. Much research has been done to understand the complexities of the disorder. Most of the

Progress In Neuro-Psychopharmacology And Biological Psychiatry, 31(4), 961-962. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2007.01.003 Beard, K. (2005). Internet Addiction: A Review of Current Assessment Techniques and Potential Assessment Questions. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 8(1), 7-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2005.8.7 Block, J. (2008).

Internet addiction, which is a problem that occurs when people become completely dependent on Internet connectivity, which can lead people to have symptoms of anxiety and violence, because having no access to the network. Internet addiction is similar as to having an addiction with alcohol and drugs because the brain generates alterations, which lead the person to become dependent on that addiction at hand.

There is not a clear stated definition of digital addiction however Shaw and Black (2008) characterize Internet addiction by excessive or poorly preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. However as the term addict is a strong description DA is seen as a general misuse of the internet in various forms, as no formal definition exists the author sees the disorder as problematic computer usage resulting in negative consequences. According to Young et al DA is a broad term covering a wide variety of behaviours and impulse control problems. K.Young (1999) also categorised DA into five subtypes of DA, they are cybersexual addiction, cyberrelationship addiction; net compulsion (e.g. gambling or shopping on the internet); information overload (e.g. compulsive database searching); and computer addiction (excessive game-playing). This project highlights social network addiction which falls into the category of cyberrelationship addiction but also contemplates all other types.

Addictive use of the Internet may be vary and it has impacts on several aspects such as online affairs, student internet abuse, and employee internet abuse. Online chat rooms and other social medias might impact individuals in ways such as marriages, health conditions, and personalities. New areas of research identify users who became hooked on online chat rooms, instant messaging, interactive games, and even eBay only to see their lives become increasingly unmanageable because of the Internet (e.g., Morahan-Martin, 1997; Scherer, 1997; Young, 1996). Moreover, information on the Internet is too disorganized and unrelated to school curriculum to help students and can even serve as a