Document Type
Article
Department
Community and Global Health (CGU)
Publication Date
2012
Disciplines
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities | Communication Technology and New Media | Mental and Social Health | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Abstract
Purpose: Compulsive Internet Use (CIU) has increasingly become an area of research among process addictions. Largely based on data from cross-sectional studies, a positive association between CIU and substance use has previously been reported. This study presents gender and country-specific longitudinal findings on the relationships between CIU and substance use. Methods: Data were drawn from youth attending non-conventional high schools, recruited into two similarly implemented trials conducted in China and the USA. The Chinese sample included 1,761 students (49% male); the US sample included 1,182 students (57% male) with over half (65%) of the US youth being of Hispanic ethnicity. Path analyses were applied to detect the concurrent and predictive relationships between baseline and one-year follow-up measures of CIU level, 30-day cigarette smoking, and 30-day binge drinking. Results: (1) CIU was not positively related with substance use at baseline. (2) There was a positive predictive relationship between baseline CIU and change in substance use among female, but not male students. (3) Relationships between concurrent changes in CIU and substance use were also found among female, but not male students. (4) Baseline substance use did not predict an increase in CIU from baseline to 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: While CIU was found to be related to substance use, the relationship was not consistently positive. More longitudinal studies with better measures for Internet Addiction are needed to ascertain the detailed relationship between Internet addiction and substance use.
Rights Information
© 2012 Carl Anderson Johnson, licensee MDPI. Posted with permission.
DOI
10.3390/ijerph9030660
Recommended Citation
Sun, P., Johnson, C.A., Palmer, P., Arpawong, T.E., Unger, J.B., Xie, B., Rohrbach, L.A., Spruijt-Metz, D., & Sussman, S. Concurrent and predictive relationships between compulsive internet use and substance use: Findings from vocational high school students in China and the USA. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 9(3), 660-673, 2012.
Included in
Behavioral Disciplines and Activities Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
