Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being: development of a theory-based cognitive–behavioral measurement instrument

“…(Armstrong, Phillips, & Saling, 2000; Velezmoro, Lacefield, & Roberti, 2010; Widyanto & McMurran, 2004), loneliness and shyness (e.g., Caplan, 2002, 2003, 2005; Kim, LaRose, & Peng, 2009), locus of control and online experience (Chak & Leung, 2004),…”

“When reviewing EFA practices in the current article, among the most studied constructs were Internet addiction (Caplan, 2002; Pawlikowski, Altstötter-Gleich, & Brand, 2013), cyberbulling (Çetin, Yaman, & Peker, 2011; Lam & Li, 2013), e-learning perceptions (Ozkan & Koseler, 2009; van Braak & Tearle, 2007), and attitud…”

“For example, depressed individuals with a diminished sense of self-worth may turn to social media based interactions for validation.[37, 38] Subsequently, individuals may suffer from continuous rumination and guilt surrounding Internet use, while feeling compelled to continue the cycle due to low self-efficacy and neg…”

“2008), the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (Caplan 2002), the social control subscale of the Social Skill Inventory (Riggio 1989), the CES Depression Scale (Mirowsky and Ross 1992), and the Videogame Dependency Scale (adapted from Rehbein and Borchers 2009).”

“…an use that are not linked to any specific content (i.e., gam generalized PIU occurs when an individual develops p sonal contexts available online (Caplan, 2002, 2003; Besser, 2002). a b s t r a c t This study tested an updated cognitive-behavioral model of generalized problematic Internet use…”

“Recently, Caplan (2002) identified a number of cognitive and behavioral symptoms of PIU, including the following: mood alteration (using the Internet to facilitate some change in negative affective states), perception of social benefits online (the perceived social benefits of Internet use),…”

“However, this group of people is likely to develop problematic or excessive Internet use behavior (Caplan, 2002).”

“…(see Table 2): loss of control (items 1, 2, 5, and 9); preoccupation (including mental and behavioral preoccupation) (items 4, 6, and 7); withdrawal symptoms (item 14); coping or mood modification (items 12 and 13); and conflict (including inter-and intrapersonal conflict) (items 3, 8, 10, and 11).”

“…about the idea that some people’s involvement with the Internet can become so intense as to be pathological (e.g. Beard & Wolf, 2001; Brenner, 1997; Caplan, 2002; Davis, 2002; Davis, Flett, & Besser, 2002; Griffiths, 1998; Griffiths, Davies, & Chappell, 2003; Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000;…”

“Past research has found that deviant Internet use is significantly correlated to shyness (Caplan, 2002; Ofosu, 1999).”

“In Caplan’s (2003) study, the participants consisted of 386 undergraduates (279 females and 116 males), with the age ranging from 18 to 57 years old (mean age = 20”

“…early research investigating online activity identified an association between Internet use and negative psychological outcomes (e.g. Bread, 2005; Caplan, 2002; Davis, 2001; Kraut et al., 1998), and more recently the problems associated with Facebook use (e.g. Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Moore…”

“Specifically, these four constructs have been used in research on the relation between psychosocial well-being and problematic computer use (Caplan, 2002).”

“Pathological Internet use (Davis, 2001; Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000), problematic Internet use (Caplan, 2002; Odacı & Çıkrıkçı, 2014; Shapira, Goldsmith, Keck Jr, Khosla & McElroy, 2000; Shapira et al., 2003), problematic Internet behavior, excessive Internet use (Bener et al., 2011; Wright…”

“…and Griffiths, 2006; Young et al., 2011), compulsive Internet use (Meerkerk et al., 2006, 2009, 2010), Internet-related addictive behavior (Brenner, 1997), Internet-related problems (Widyanto et al., 2008), problematic Internet use (Caplan, 2002), and pathological Internet use (Davis, 2001).”

“The next section explains the hypothesized influence of preference for online social interaction on maladaptive behavioral symptoms of PIU (see Caplan, 2002, 2003; Davis, 2001).”

“Several studies have suggested that unhealthy technology overuse can be problematic and may have negative consequences (Caplan 2002; Davis et al. 2002; Huang et al. 2007; Shapira et al. 2003; Yellowlees et al. 2007).”

“In 2002, Caplan (2002) published the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS), a preliminary study of which indicated that the GPIUS was both reliable and valid and the factor analysis identified seven sub-dimensions, including mood alteration, perceived social benefits available online,…”

“The phenomenon of excessive or pathological Internet use has been termed differentially in recent articles, for instance Internet addiction (Block, 2008; Chou, Condron, & Belland, 2005; Pratarelli & Browne, 2002; Widyanto & Griffiths, 2006; Young, 2004), compulsive Internet use (Meerkerk, van den Eijnden, & Garretsen,…”

“There are various forms of media addiction, including television addiction (e.g., Horvath, 2004; Mcllwraith, 1998) and Internet addiction based on computers (e.g., Caplan, 2002, 2010; Davis, 2001) as well as smartphones (e.g., Mak et al., 2014).”

“Problematic Internet Use (PIU) [21], computer addiction, Internet dependence [22], compulsive Internet use, pathological Internet use [23], and many other labels can be found in the literature.”

“In 2002, Caplan published the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS) [5].”

“Studies report significant correlations between PIU and loneliness (Amichai-Hamburger & Ben-Artzi, 2003; Caplan, 2002; Kubey, Lavin, & Barrows, 2001; Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2003), depression (Ybarra, Alexander, & Mitchell, 2005; Young & Rogers, 1998), anxiety (Caplan, 2005a, 2005b; Spada et al.”

“They devised the Problematic Online Game Use Scale (based on Armstrong et al., 2000; Caplan, 2002; Charlton & Danforth, 2007; Lee & Ahn, 2002; Young, 1999) that assessed the following criteria: euphoria, health problem, conflict, failure of self-control, and preference for virtual relationships.”

“Although different studies have resulted in slightly different factor structures (see, e.g., Caplan, 2002; Pratarelli & Browne, 2002), observations support the multifactor model of Internet addiction, and not the one-factor model of Nichols and Nicki (2004).”

“22,31,32 However, depressive symptoms were associated with both PIU and POG, affecting PIU slightly more.”

“E-mail address: lexine.stapinski@mq.edu.au (L.A. Stapinski). are thought to be symptomatic of problematic internet use (Caplan, 2002).”

“…as covering a heterogeneous spectrum (Laconi, Tricard & Chabrol, 2015) of potentially excessive uses of technologies or online applications (Caplan, 2002; Davis, 2001), regarding generalized use of a device (i.e., a tablet, such as an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab) or specific use (i.e.,…”

“Measurement development efforts in the CMC context are evolving rapidly (e.g., Ambra & Rice, 2001; Caplan, 2002; Gaudron & Vignoli, 2002; Richter et al., 2000).”

“Subsequent studies hypothesized that other maladaptive cognitions such as overgeneralizing or catastrophizing, negative core beliefs, and cognitive distortions also contribute to compulsive use of the internet (Caplan 2002; Davis 2001; LaRose et al. 2001).”

“Since then, studies have shown correlations of online activity by younger people with low self-esteem (Caplan 2002), loneliness (Clayton et al.”

“A four-factor model has also been retrieved, in which the factors were named ‘‘Neglect of duty’’, ‘‘Online dependence’’, ‘‘Virtual fantasies’’ and ‘‘Privacy and self-defense’’ (Karim & Nigar, 2013), ‘‘Difficulty to control’’, ‘‘Avoidance’’, ‘‘Social isolation’’ and ‘‘Deprivation’’ (Keser, Esgi, Kocadag, & Bulu, 2013),…”

“ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 11 November 2014 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01256 Internet addiction: coping styles, expectancies, and treatment implications”

“7 However, it is difficult to determine whether loneliness is a symptom of excessive Internet use or whether heavy Internet use is a symptom of loneliness.”

“Current studies about IAD have focused on case summaries, behavioral components, negative consequences in daily life, along with clinical diagnosis, epidemiology, associated psychosocial factors, symptom management, psychiatric comorbidity and treatment outcome [7,8,9,10,11].”

“For instance, the Pathological Internet Use scale (MorahanMartin & Schumacher, 2000) was developed with a key focus on psychological and behavioral problems, and daily life routine disruption associated with Internet use, while the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (Caplan, 2002) was developed from Davis’s (2…”

“…Internet Use, is characterized by excessive and compulsive Internet use and a preoccupation with and loss of control over this use that interferes with individuals' daily functioning (Caplan, 2002; Davis, 2001; Van den Eijinden, Meerkerk, Vermulst, Spijkerman, & Engles, 2008; Young & Abreu, 2011).”

“Continuous approaches such as the psychometric approach adopted here and by others (e.g. Brenner 1997, Caplan 2002, Davis et al .”

“In the recent years, research has been conducted to answer the question “whether technological addictions such as internet addiction, social media addiction, digital game addiction and smartphone addiction are myths or are they really behavioral addictions?” Research has emphasized that individuals with internet addic…”

“Since then, many instruments and psychometric scales have been developed in order to measure Internet addiction (Beard & Wolf, 2001; Caplan, 2002; Davies et al., 2002; Hahn & Jerusalem, 2010; Meerkerk et al., 2009).”

“However, instruments more specific to Internet problems are generally used with questions such as “When not online, I wonder what is happening online’’ (Caplan, 2002).”

“Indeed, since the influential work of Charlton and Danforth (2007), the question of the boundary between high involvement or passion versus problematic use or addiction received a growing interest and generated debates about, for example, the pathologization of common behaviors (Griffiths, 2010; Billieux, Schimmenti,…”

“Caplan (2002) found the interpersonal factor yielded the generalized PIU.”

“Studies have focused on negative aspects such as problematic Internet use (Caplan, 2002), Internet addiction (Beard, 2005), smartphone addiction (Panova and Carbonell, 2018), fear of missing out (Przybylski et al., 2013), or social comparison (Midgley et al., 2021).”

“2) [18-56] Large Southeastern regional university Classroom: undergraduate introduction to psychology Fortson et al Internet Dependence Scale Reporting 3 symptoms as measured by a set of liberal and conservative criteria No Paper/ pencil and online 1.”

“Empirical research has demonstrated that psychosocial factors, such as social skills, self-esteem, depression and loneliness, predict Internet dependency (Caplan, 2002, 2005; Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000; Wang, 2001).”

“Such measures are, for example, Brenner’s Internet-Related Addictive Behavior Inventory, 8 the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale, 26 the Online Cognition Scale, 20 the Internet Addiction Scale, 27 and the Chinese Internet Addiction Inventory.”

“It has been suggested that Internet addiction is a form of passive coping, and the addicted users relay on the Internet to escape from their real-life problems and troubling feelings (Caplan, 2002; Tao, 2005).”

“…some referring to it as media addiction (Young, 1988), others preferring media abuse (Morahan-Martin, 1999), and still others problematic media use (Caplan, 2002)—there is general consensus that habitual media use involves repeated use of a medium or platform, motivations that cause, or in the…”

“Therefore it has been named differently, e.g. addictive (Widyanto & Griffiths, 2006; Young, 2004), pathological (Davis, 2001), or problematic (Caplan, 2002) Internet use.”

“…indicating a relationship between the personality dimension emotional stability and low psychosocial wellbeing on the one hand and CIU on the other (Caplan, 2002; Danforth, 2003; Davis et al., 2002; Meer-kerk et al., submitted for publication; Whang et al., 2003; Yang & Tung, 2007; Yang et al.,…”

“Thus, problematic Internet use is the consequence of more general psychological distress.(15,24) Individuals with depressive symptoms may use the Internet to alleviate emotional distress or to escape other personal problems, which in turn could increase the likelihood of developing problematic use of this technologica…”

“Psychometric evaluations reveal 6 and 7 factor solutions for the GPIUS (Caplan 2002) and 4-factor solutions for the GPIUS-2 (Fioravanti et al. 2013).”

“Individuals with problematic internet use are thought to have cognitive distortions such as over-generalizing, rationalization, catastrophizing, and negative core beliefs (Caplan, 2002; Davis, 2001).”

“Another contention is that spending an excessive amount of time online may be a way of avoiding marital or work problems or from escaping other social confrontations (Caplan, 2002).”

“These include problematic Internet use (Caplan, 2002; Davis, Besser, & Flett, 2002), pathological Internet use (Morahan-Martin, & Schumacher, 2000), Internet dependency (Anderson, 1998; Scherer, 1997), and Internet addiction (Beard & Wolf, 2001; Griffiths, 1996; Young, 1996a).”