P. SCARCIGLIA, M. SALVIATI, M. BIONDI - Vol. 9, September 2003, Issue 3
Testo Immagini Bibliografia Summary Indice
Screening temperamentale di una popolazione
di internet-users: uno studio preliminare
Temperamental screening of an internet-user population: a preliminary
study
Objectives
Some recent reports showed in Internet users an adaptive behavior characterised
by an individual inability to control the use of this mean, with marked distress
and functional impairment. This problematic Internet use has been described
in psychological literature as "Internet Addiction Disorder" (IAD),
"Pathological Internet Use" or "Internet-Related Psychopathology".
At present, there are no studies using standardised psychiatric assessment
to identify behavioural characteristics, psychiatric comorbidity or family
psychiatric history of individuals with this behaviour. The aim of our pilot
study is to identify and to find possible correlations between temperamental
factors and Internet use.
Methods
We enrolled 84 subjects recruited at Internet-points. All subjects have
been assessed with two self-administered tests: the eight-items questionnaire
(Italian version) for the diagnosis of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) (K.S.
Young) and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire-test (TPQ) (C.R. Cloninger)
to evaluate temperamental characteristics. We compared our TPQ-test results
with results of two Italian validation normative studies (Rossi et al., 1996
and Manfredonia et al., 1991) and we correlated the four dimensions of the
TPQ-test with the subjects’ "time on-line" (TOL), subdivided in
Essential Time (TE) and Non-Essential Time (TNE).
Results
Five subjects corresponded to Young’s criteria for the diagnosis of IAD.
All the middle values of TPQ-test are included in DS of the validation studies
utilised for correlation. Analysing TPQ dimensions, RD correlated inversely
with the number of criteria proposed for diagnosis of IAD (r = -.2713, p =
.018). A significant correlation was found between TOL and NS and a significant
inverse correlation between TNE and HE.
Conclusions
We obtained two main data: NS is directly associated to the time spent
on-line and a low RD is associated to inability to control Internet use. In
literature, subjects with low RD are described as impulsive, socially detached,
never sharing intimate feelings with others, satisfied to be alone, cynical
and alienated. These data disagree with recent theories that hold IAD to represent
a new form of dependence. On the other hand, we observed a form of pre-existent
tendency to stay isolated, difficulties in interpersonal relations and a tendency
to be insensitive to social cues and pressures. Probably these subjects find
Internet to be a safe place far from other persons and from direct social
contacts.