Symptoms and diagnostic classification of the internet addiction disorder in Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine typical clinical characteristics of Internet use disorder in Serbia, as well as to test the validity of the Internet addiction scale in predicting the disorder. The secondary aim was the evaluation of the proposal to categorize this disorder into the category of behavior addictions. The study was designed as a comparative analysis of Internet users with and without excessive and dysfunctional Internet use symptoms. The study recruited 100 subjects in total, 50 in both the clinical and control group. The clinical group included the Internet users who asked for professional help due to the symptoms of excessive Internet use, and also met the criteria of Internet behavior disorder. The typical symptoms were recorded with the adapted scale of psycho-physical symptoms. The Internet use disorder is comprised of four, to a certain extent separated, symptom dimensions: obsessive-compulsiveness, depression, hostility, anxiety and emotional sensitivity, were established symptom dimensions of Internet addiction correspond with theoretically hypothesized symptoms/disorders which bring about the disorder itself. The important finding of the study is that the Internet addiction scale has proved to be highly discriminating (odds ratio -1,557) in predicting Internet use disorders. The Internet addiction scale is in high correlation (rb=0,708, p<,001) with the mentioned behaviour disorder which provides empirical bases to the idea that the above mentioned form of behaviour may be classified under behavior addictions.