Population Health Sciences University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2020 Jul 23;15(7):e0235889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235889. eCollection 2020.
Most of the evidence on the effects of internet use on mental health derives from cross-sectional research. We set out to explore prospective associations between internet use (hours online and specific internet experiences) and future mental health problems.
Participants were 1,431 respondents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK birth cohort, who completed a questionnaire on internet use (time online and ten different internet experiences) when they were aged 18 years. Outcomes included past year self-harm, assessed at 21 years and high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, assessed at 22 years. Associations were investigated using logistic regression models and analyses were conducted separately for males and females.
Females reporting high levels of internet use (number of hours online) were found to be at increased risk of depression at follow-up (highest tertile vs lowest tertile OR = 1.41, 95% CI 0.90 to 2.20), whereas males with high levels of internet use were at increased risk for self-harm (highest tertile vs lowest tertile OR = 2.53, 95%CI 0.93 to 6.90). There was no evidence to suggest an association between hours spent online and anxiety. With regards to the specific internet experiences, associations were found for females but not for males. In fully adjusted models, being bullied online (OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.86) and meeting someone face to face (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.41) were associated with an increased risk of future depression. Being bullied online was also associated with an increased risk of future self-harm (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.15), along with receiving unwanted sexual comments or material, and coming across pornography and violent/gruesome material.
Our findings highlight the importance of digital citizenship training to help teach young people to use technology safely and responsibly.
大多数关于互联网使用对心理健康影响的证据都来自于横断面研究。我们旨在探讨互联网使用（上网时间和特定的互联网体验）与未来心理健康问题之间的前瞻性关联。
参与者为英国阿冯纵向研究父母和儿童（ALSPAC）的 1431 名受访者，这是一个英国出生队列，他们在 18 岁时完成了一份关于互联网使用（上网时间和十种不同的互联网体验）的问卷。结果包括在 21 岁时评估的过去一年的自我伤害，以及在 22 岁时评估的高度抑郁和焦虑症状。使用逻辑回归模型进行关联研究，并分别对男性和女性进行分析。
报告高互联网使用水平（上网时间）的女性被发现随访时患抑郁症的风险增加（最高三分位与最低三分位 OR = 1.41，95%CI 0.90 至 2.20），而高互联网使用水平的男性自我伤害的风险增加（最高三分位与最低三分位 OR = 2.53，95%CI 0.93 至 6.90）。没有证据表明上网时间与焦虑之间存在关联。关于特定的互联网体验，仅在女性中发现了关联，而在男性中则没有。在完全调整的模型中，在网上被欺凌（OR = 1.76，95%CI 1.09 至 2.86）和面对面见面（OR = 1.55，95%CI 1.00 至 2.41）与未来抑郁风险增加相关。在网上被欺凌也与未来自我伤害的风险增加相关（OR = 2.42，95%CI 1.41 至 4.15），同时还与收到不想要的性评论或材料、遇到色情和暴力/恐怖材料相关。
我们的研究结果强调了数字公民培训的重要性，以帮助教导年轻人安全和负责任地使用技术。
