Problematic Internet use (PIU), personality profiles and emotion dysregulation in a cohort of young adults: trajectories from risky behaviors to addiction

Abstract

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) encloses excessive online activities (like video gaming, social media use, web-streaming, pornography viewing, buying). Despite its psychological burden, risk factors related to PIU remain still unclear. In the present study we explored the role of personality traits and emotion dysregulation as potential vulnerability factors for PIU. In a sample of American young adults with different PIU risk levels (established through the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire), we administered the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. PIU participants were more likely to report lower TPQ scores in novelty seeking, harm avoidance and reward dependence. Moreover, DERS total scores significantly differed across PIU-risk groups, along with a progressively higher occurrence of depression, anxiety and impulsivity. These results preliminarily support the hypothesis of PIU as a mainly behavior aimed at 'escaping' from negative affects. Besides confirming the role of some personality traits and emotional dysregulation, we propose the concept of risk-trajectories to monitor and prevent the emergence of PIU. Gaining more insight into PIU vulnerability factors may allow us to establish targeted interventions to cope with emotion dysregulation and negative affects.

Keywords: Depression; Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS); Harm avoidance; Impulsivity; Internet addiction; Novelty seeking; Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ).