Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T03:13:34.479Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Internet use among young people with and without mental health difficulties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2016

G. Mullen ,
C. Dowling  and
G. O’Reilly
G. Mullen*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
C. Dowling
Affiliation:
Willow GroveAdolescent Unit, St Patrick's Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland
G. O’Reilly
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: G. Mullen, School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland. (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives

Research regarding adolescent internet use and mental health is sparse. However, awareness of a young person’s internet use is becoming increasingly recognised as an important element of clinical assessment and intervention, and requires the development of an evidence base. The aim of the present study was to better understand the internet use of young people experiencing mental health difficulties and to contrast it with those who currently report no concerns.

Method

In total, 299 young people aged 12–19 years, across a continuum of mental health difficulties, completed an online survey measuring internet use and related experiences. Young people were assigned to four groups: (a) attending inpatient services; (b) attending outpatient services; (c) a community group with mental health concerns and no clinical support; and (d) a regular community group.

Results

Those in the inpatient and outpatient groups visited more potentially harmful websites. Young people attending inpatient and outpatient services showed aspects of both more risky and less risky use. The community group reporting no mental health difficulties showed least risky use. The group experiencing difficulties but not receiving support showed consistently high risky use, suggesting this is a particularly vulnerable group.

Conclusions

Despite methodological limitations, findings suggest that those with mental health difficulties may experience more of the risks and fewer of the benefits offered by the internet. Though further research is needed to clarify these findings, clinicians should consider routine assessment of Internet use when planning interventions for young people experiencing mental health difficulties.

Keywords

Adolescentinternetmental health
Type
Original Research
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 11 - 21
Copyright
© College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Appel, M, Holtz, P, Stiglbauer, B, Batinic, B (2012). Parents as a resource: Communication quality affects the relationship between adolescents‘ internet use and loneliness. Journal of Adolescence 35, 1641–1648.Google Scholar
Barlett, CP, Gentile, DA (2012). Attacking others online: the formation of cyber bullying in late adolescence. Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1, 123–135.Google Scholar
Best, P, Manktelow, R, Taylor, B (2014). Online communication, social media and adolescent wellbeing: a systematic narrative review. Children and Youth Services Review 41, 27–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caplan, SE (2002). Problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being: development of a theory-based cognitive-behavioural measurement instrument. Computers in Human Behaviour 18, 553–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Central Statistics Office (CSO; 2011). This is Ireland; Highlights from census 2011, part 2 (http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/thisisirelandpart2census2011/This_is_Ireland_Highlights,_P2_Full_doc.pdf).Google Scholar
Creswell, JW (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 3rd edn. Sage: Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Durkee, T, Kaess, M, Carli, V, Parzer, P, Wasserman, C, Wasserman, D (2012). Prevalence of pathological internet use among adolescents in Europe: demographic and social factors. Addiction 107, 2210–2222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
EU Kids Online (2014). EU Kids Online: findings, methods, recommendations. EU Kids Online, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/60512/). Accessed March 2014.Google Scholar
Field, A (2013). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics, 4th edn. Sage: London.Google Scholar
Fletcher, AC, Steinberg, L, Williams-Wheeler, M (2004). Parental influences on adolescent problem behaviour: revisiting Stattin and Kerr. Child Development 75, 781–796.Google Scholar
Gleeson, H (2014). The Prevalence and Impact of Bullying Linked to Social Media on the Mental Health and Suicidal Behaviour Among Young People. Department of Education and Skills and HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention: Dublin.Google Scholar
Harris, IM, Roberts, LM (2013). Exploring the use and effects of deliberate self-harm websites: an internet-based study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 15, 285.Google Scholar
The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children [ISPCC] (2011). The National Children’s Consultation (http://www.ispcc.ie/uploads/files/dir4/12_0.php). Accessed March 2014.Google Scholar
Jellinek, M, Murphy, JM (2014). The Youth Pediatric Symptom Checklist. [Measurement instrument] (http://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/services/psc_forms.aspx). Accessed February 2014.Google Scholar
Jett, S, LaPorte, DJ, Wanchisn, J (2010). Impact of exposure to pro-eating disorder websites on eating behaviour in college women. European Eating Disorders Review 18, 410–416.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaess, M, Durkee, T, Brunner, R, Carli, V, Parzer, P, Wasserman, C, Sarchiapone, M, Hoven, C, Apter, A, Calazs, J, Balint, M, Borbes, J, Cohen, R, Cosman, D, Cotter, P, Fischer, G, Floderus, B, Iosue, M, Haring, C, Kahn, JP. (2014). Pathological Internet use among European adolescents: psychopathology and self-destructive behaviours. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 23, 1093–1102.Google Scholar
Kowalski, RM, Giumetti, GW, Schroeder, AN, Lattanner, MR (2014). Bullying in the digital age: a critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin 140, 1073–1137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, SP, Baker, TG (2011). The possible risks of self-injury on websites: a content analysis. Archives of Suicide Research 15, 390–396.Google Scholar
Livingstone, S, Gorzig, A (2014). When adolescents receive sexual messages on the internet: explaining experiences of risk and harm. Computers in Human Behaviour 33, 8–15.Google Scholar
Livingstone, S, Haddon, L (2009). EU Kids Online Final Report. EU Kids Online, LSE, London.Google Scholar
Livingstone, S, Mascheroni, G, Staksrud, E (2015). Developing a Framework for Researching Children’s Online Risks and Opportunities in Europe. EU Kids Online: London.Google Scholar
O’Neill, B, Dinh, T (2015). Net Children Go Mobile: Full findings from Ireland. Dublin Institute of Technology: Dublin.Google Scholar
Owens, EW, Behun, RJ, Manning, JC, Reid, RC (2012). The impact of internet pornography on adolescents: a review of the research. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity 19, 99–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paus-Hasebrink, I, Sinner, P, Prochazka, F (2014). Children’s Online Experiences in Socially Disadvantaged Families: European Evidence and Policy Recommendations. EU Kids Online, The London School of Economics and Political Science: London.Google Scholar
Peebles, R, Wilson, JL, Litt, IF, Hardy, KK, Lock, JD, Mann, JR, Borzekowski, DLG (2012). Disordered eating in a digital age: eating behaviours, health, and quality of life in users of websites with pro-eating disorder content. E-Mental Health and Cyberpsychology 14, 148.Google Scholar
Rafla, M, Carson, NJ, DeJong, S (2014). Adolescents and the internet: what mental health clinicians need to know. Current Psychiatry Report 16, 1–10.Google Scholar
Sabina, C, Wolak, J, Finkelhor, D (2008). The nature and dynamics of internet pornography exposure for youth. Cyber Psychology and Behaviour 11, 1–3.Google Scholar
Slonje, R, Smith, PK, Frisen, A (2013). The nature of cyber bullying, and strategies for prevention. Computers in Human Behaviour 29, 26–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smahel, D, Helsper, E, Green, L, Kalmus, V, Blinka, L, Olafsson, K (2012). Excessive Internet Use Among European Children. EU Kids Online, London School of Economics & Political Science: London.Google Scholar
Smith, PK, Mahdivi, J, Carvalho, M, Fisher, S, Russell, S, Tippett, N (2008). Cyberbullying: its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. Journal of child Psychology and Psychiatry 49, 376–385.Google Scholar
Tokunaga, RS (2012). A unique problem or the manifestation of a preexisting disorder? The mediating role of problematic Internet use in the relationships between psychosocial problems and functional impairment. Communication Research 41, 531–560.Google Scholar
Topcu, C, Erdur-Baker, O (2010). The revised cyber bullying inventory (RCBI): validity and reliability studies. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences 5, 660–664.Google Scholar
Yeshua-Katz, D, Martins, N (2013). Communicating stigma: the pro-ana paradox. Health Communication 28, 499–508.Google Scholar