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Cited by 80Impact of Technology on AdolescentsSexuality, Behavior, and TechnologyAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

Attachment Style and Internet Addiction: An Online Survey

Open access
Eichenberg, Christiane, Schott, Markus, Decker, Oliver, Sindelar, Brigitte·2017·Journal of Medical Internet Research
DOI 10.2196/jmir.6694PMC PMC5451635
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: One of the clinically relevant problems of Internet use is the phenomenon of Internet addiction. Considering the fact that there is ample evidence for the relationship between attachment style and substance abuse, it stands to reason that attachment theory can also make an important contribution to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Internet addiction. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine people's tendency toward pathological Internet usage in relation to their attachment style. METHODS: An online survey was conducted. Sociodemographic data, attachment style (Bielefeld questionnaire partnership expectations), symptoms of Internet addiction (scale for online addiction for adults), used Web-based services, and online relationship motives (Cyber Relationship Motive Scale, CRMS-D) were assessed. In order to confirm the findings, a study using the Rorschach test was also conducted. RESULTS: In total, 245 subjects were recruited. Participants with insecure attachment style showed a higher tendency to pathological Internet usage compared with securely attached participants. An ambivalent attachment style was particularly associated with pathological Internet usage. Escapist and social-compensatory motives played an important role for insecurely attached subjects. However, there were no significant effects with respect to Web-based services and apps used. Results of the analysis of the Rorschach protocol with 16 subjects corroborated these results. Users with pathological Internet use frequently showed signs of infantile relationship structures in the context of social groups. This refers to the results of the Web-based survey, in which interpersonal relationships were the result of an insecure attachment style. CONCLUSIONS: Pathological Internet use was a function of insecure attachment and limited interpersonal relationships.

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  • Secure attachment may be considered a protective factor against internet/social media addiction.

    “Secure attachment is a protective factor against SNS addiction (p < .001).”

    From Addiction to Social Media and Attachment Styles: A Systematic Literature Review (2019) · cites this paper as Eichenberg et al. 2017

    The Results section reports that securely attached participants were less likely than insecurely attached participants to show Internet-addiction tendencies (P=.003). It does not establish secure attachment as a protective factor specifically against SNS addiction, and the cited P<.001 does not match. The Discussion also says attachment styles were not associated with the Web-based services used. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The more individuals think they cannot rely on others' support, the more it leads to avoidance of interpersonal relationships and they search for compensation via online engagement.

    “The more they think they cannot rely on others' support (Estévez et al. 2017), the more it leads to the avoidance of interpersonal relationships and they search for compensation via online engagement (Eichenberg et al. 2017;Estévez et al. 2017;Fujimori et al. 2015;Lei and Wu 2007;Savcı and Aysan 2016;Yang et al. 2016).”

    From Addiction to Social Media and Attachment Styles: A Systematic Literature Review (2019) · cites this paper as Eichenberg et al. 2017

    The Discussion (Principal Findings; page unavailable) describes difficulties opening up to others and says that users with an ambivalent-closed attachment style appear to use the Internet to compensate for real-life social deficits. It does not establish that these difficulties cause people to avoid interpersonal relationships, as the citing sentence implies. The belief that others cannot be relied on is cited to Estévez et al., not specifically to this paper. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • An ambivalently attached style is particularly relevant in both problematic smartphone and problematic internet usage contexts.

    “Notably, an ambivalently attached style was identified as particularly relevant in both contexts.”

    From Social media addiction: associations with attachment style, mental distress, and personality (2024) · cites this paper as [36]

    The Discussion (Principal Findings; page unavailable) says ambivalent attachment styles were particularly associated with pathological Internet use. The paper does not establish the same association for problematic smartphone use, so it supports only the Internet-use context. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Insecure attachment style is correlated with problematic smartphone usage and problematic internet usage.

    “Supporting this, Eichenberg et al. [34] showed that insecure attachment style is correlated with problematic smartphone usage and problematic internet usage [36].”

    From Social media addiction: associations with attachment style, mental distress, and personality (2024) · cites this paper as [36]

    The Results section reports that insecurely attached participants had significantly greater Internet addiction tendencies than securely attached participants. The paper does not report an association between attachment style and problematic smartphone use; its measures concern Internet use and Web-based services. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These results are consistent with previous data suggesting this style is prevalent for internet-related addictions, as observed in the context of both smartphone and internet addictions.

    “These results are consistent with previous data suggesting this style is prevalent for internet-related addictions, as observed in the context of both smartphone [34] and internet [36] addictions.”

    From Social media addiction: associations with attachment style, mental distress, and personality (2024) · cites this paper as [36]

    The Discussion (Principal Findings; page unavailable) reports that ambivalent attachment styles were particularly associated with pathological Internet-use tendencies, supporting the internet-related part of the claim. The Limitations section says the study lacked participants classified as addicted, so it cannot establish that this style is prevalent among people with diagnosed Internet addiction. The smartphone finding is attributed to a different citation, not this paper. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 24

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Authors
Eichenberg, C., Schott, M., Decker, O., & Sindelar, B.
Affiliations
  • Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien (AT)
  • Leipzig University (DE)
Corresponding author
Eichenberg, Christiane
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher
JMIR Publications Inc.
Published
2017-05-17
Volume
19
Issue
5
Pages
e170
ISSN
1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2196/jmir.6694
PMC
PMC5451635
OpenAlex
W2614954388
Cited by
80
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 4
FWCI
20.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • 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 › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
internet addiction, attachment styles, insecure attachment, ambivalent attachment, interpersonal relationships, attachment theory, Rorschach test
MeSH terms
Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Behavior, Addictive, Internet

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