Proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop diagnostic criteria for internet addiction disorder (IAD) and to evaluate the validity of our proposed diagnostic criteria for discriminating non-dependent from dependent internet use in the general population. METHODS: This study was conducted in three stages: the developmental stage (110 subjects in the survey group; 408 subjects in the training group), where items of the proposed diagnostic criteria were developed and tested; the validation stage (n = 405), where the proposed criteria were evaluated for criterion-related validity; and the clinical stage (n = 150), where the criteria and the global clinical impression of IAD were evaluated by more than one psychiatrist to determine inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: The proposed internet addiction diagnostic criteria consisted of symptom criterion (seven clinical symptoms of IAD), clinically significant impairment criterion (functional and psychosocial impairments), course criterion (duration of addiction lasting at least 3 months, with at least 6 hours of non-essential internet usage per day) and exclusion criterion (exclusion of dependency attributed to psychotic disorders). A diagnostic score of 2 + 1, where the first two symptoms (preoccupation and withdrawal symptoms) and at least one of the five other symptoms (tolerance, lack of control, continued excessive use despite knowledge of negative effects/affects, loss of interests excluding internet, and use of the internet to escape or relieve a dysphoric mood) was established. Inter-rater reliability was 98%. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the proposed diagnostic criteria may be useful for the standardization of diagnostic criteria for IAD.
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Internet addiction is associated with decreased empathy.
“Internet addiction is associated with decreased empathy, which is an important component of social cognition (Tao et al., 2010).”
From The impact of digital technology, social media, and artificial intelligence on cognitive functions: a review (2023) · cites this paper as Tao et al., 2010
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- Authors
- Tao, R., Huang, X., Wang, J., Zhang, H., Zhang, Y., & Li, M.
- Affiliations
- The Military General Hospital of Beijing PLA (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Tao, Ran
- Venue
- Addiction
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-02-05
- Volume
- 105
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 556-564
- ISSN
- 0965-2140 (ISSN-L)
- 1360-0443
- OpenAlex
- W2041328962
- Cited by
- 614
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 80 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 53 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 61 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 76.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Addiction (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Keywords
- internet addiction, diagnostic criteria, preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms, tolerance, lack of control, excessive internet use, psychosocial impairment, inter-rater reliability, criterion validity, diagnostic score
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Behavior, Addictive, Internet, Young Adult
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