Gioia Francesca, Rega Valeria, Boursier Valentina
Department of Humanities, University of Naples "Federico II" Via Porta di Massa, 1 - 80133 Naples, Italy.
Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2021 Feb;18(1):41-54. doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20210104.
In recent years scientific interest in Internet use disorders, especially among young people, has grown dramatically. Within this contemporary research field, difficulties in regulating emotions have been increasingly explored in association with problematic Internet use (PIU). Indeed, individuals who experience difficulties in emotion regulation might be more exposed to the risk of developing PIU. Therefore, the present study aimed to review the literature from the last ten years focused on the relationship between young people's emotional dysregulation and PIU, taking into account the main variables involved in this relationship and possible gender-related differences.
This review included studies published between 2010 and 2020 that were indexed in major databases with the following keywords: emotion regulation, problematic Internet use, Internet addiction, social network addiction, and social media addiction. In the selection process of the studies, close attention was paid for the mean age of the involved samples that had to range between 13 and 25 years.
A total of 23 studies satisfied the initial inclusion criteria and were included in the present literature review. Several reviewed studies found a strong association between emotion dysregulation and both PIU and problematic social networking with controversial gender-based findings. Furthermore, the relationships among emotional dysregulation, PIU, attachment styles, and metacognitions were largely explored.
Overall, the present review showed that problematic Internet use might represent a coping strategy to compensate for emotional regulation deficits. The lack of social support and the lack of a good parent-adolescent relationship seem to negatively affect emotional regulation abilities, which in turn increase the risk of developing PIU. Moreover, good metacognitive abilities might represent a protective factor towards emotional dysregulation and PIU. Finally, males with emotional dysregulation are likely to be more problematically engaged in Internet use than females. These results might have important practical implications to implement health prevention/promotion programs, emotion regulation-based training programmes and therapies.
近年来，科学界对互联网使用障碍的兴趣急剧增长，尤其是在年轻人当中。在这个当代研究领域，与问题性互联网使用（PIU）相关的情绪调节困难已得到越来越多的探讨。事实上，在情绪调节方面存在困难的个体可能更容易出现问题性互联网使用。因此，本研究旨在回顾过去十年中关注年轻人情绪失调与问题性互联网使用之间关系的文献，同时考虑到这种关系中涉及的主要变量以及可能存在的性别差异。
本综述纳入了2010年至2020年期间在主要数据库中索引的研究，关键词如下：情绪调节、问题性互联网使用、网络成瘾、社交网络成瘾和社交媒体成瘾。在研究的筛选过程中，密切关注所涉及样本的平均年龄，其范围必须在13至25岁之间。
共有23项研究符合初始纳入标准，并被纳入本综述。几项综述研究发现情绪失调与问题性互联网使用以及问题性社交网络之间存在密切关联，但基于性别的研究结果存在争议。此外，还对情绪失调、问题性互联网使用、依恋风格和元认知之间的关系进行了大量探讨。
总体而言，本综述表明，问题性互联网使用可能是一种补偿情绪调节缺陷的应对策略。缺乏社会支持以及良好的亲子关系似乎会对情绪调节能力产生负面影响，进而增加出现问题性互联网使用的风险。此外，良好的元认知能力可能是情绪失调和问题性互联网使用的保护因素。最后，情绪失调的男性比女性更有可能出现问题性互联网使用。这些结果可能对实施健康预防/促进计划、基于情绪调节的培训计划和治疗具有重要的实际意义。
