http://jp.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idJPJAPAN-13691420100203
［ロンドン 3日 ロイター］ 英国の心理学者らは3日、インターネットを長時間使う人にうつの兆候が見られやすいとの研究結果を専門誌「サイコパソロジー」に発表した。ただ、インターネットがうつを引き起こすのか、うつの人がインターネットに依存しやすいのかは、明らかでないとしている。
リーズ大のカトリオナ・モリソン氏らは、16-51歳の英国人1319人を対象に、インターネット使用とうつの程度を分析。このうち1.2%が「インターネット依存症」との結論に達した。依存症の人は、普通のインターネットユーザーと比べ、成人向けサイトやオンラインゲーム、コミュニティーサイトを利用する時間が長く、また、中程度から重度のうつを患っている割合も高かったという。
モリソン氏は、1.2%という数字は小さく見えるが、英国におけるギャンブル依存症の割合(0.6%)に比べると大きいと指摘している。
The Relationship between Excessive Internet Use and Depression: A Questionnaire-Based Study of 1,319 Young People and Adults
Catriona M. Morrison, Helen Gore
Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Psychopathology 2010;43:121-126 (DOI: 10.1159/000277001)
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ArtikelNr=277001&Ausgabe=253793&ProduktNr=224276
Key WordsAbstract
- Internet use, excessive
- Addiction
- Depression
- Suicide
Background: There is a growing awareness of a psychiatric construct that needs to be better defined and understood: Internet addiction (IA). Recently there has been much public concern over the relationship between Internet use and negative affect. This study explored the concept of IA and examined the relationship between addictive symptoms and depression. Sampling and Methods: An online questionnaire was used to measure participants' Internet use, the functions for which they used the Internet, and their depressive tendencies. Three scales were included: the IA Test, the Internet Function Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). 1,319 respondents completed the questionnaires, with 18 (1.2%) identified as falling in the IA category. Results: Correlational analyses were conducted across the whole data sample. In factorial analyses, the 18 IA respondents were compared to a matched group of non-addicted (NA) respondents in terms of their scores on the Function Test and the BDI. Across the whole data sample, there was a close relationship between IA tendencies and depression, such that IA respondents were more depressed; there were also significant differences between the sexes, with men showing more addictive tendencies than women. In addition, young people were significantly more likely to show addictive symptoms than were older people. There was a significant difference between the IA and the NA group in their levels of depressive symptoms, with the NA group firmly in the non-depressed range, and the IA group in the moderately-to-severely depressed range (F1, 34 = 22.35; p < 0.001). In terms of the function for which they used the Internet, the IA group engaged significantly more than the NA group in sexually gratifying websites, gaming websites and online community/chat websites. Conclusions: The concept of IA is emerging as a construct that must be taken seriously. Moreover, it is linked to depression, such that those who regard themselves as dependent on the Internet report high levels of depressive symptoms. Those who show symptoms of IA are likely to engage proportionately more than the normal population in sites that serve as a replacement for real-life socialising. Further work needs to be done on validating this relationship. Future research is needed to corroborate the existing evidence and address the nature of the relationship between IA and depression: there is comorbidity between these conditions that needs greater investigation.
Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel
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