Baggio Stéphanie, Starcevic Vladan, Billieux Joël, King Daniel L, Gainsbury Sally M, Eslick Guy D, Berle David
Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Division of Prison Health, Geneva University Hospitals & University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Nepean Clinical School, Specialty of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Nepean Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Penrith, NSW, Australia.
Addict Behav. 2022 Dec;135:107451. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107451. Epub 2022 Jul 28.
The validity of the constructs of problematic Internet or smartphone use and Internet or smartphone addiction has been extensively debated. The spectrum hypothesis posits that problematic online behaviors (POBs) may be conceptualized within a spectrum of related yet distinct entities. To date, the hypothesis has received preliminary support, and further robust empirical studies are still needed. The present study tested the spectrum hypothesis of POBs in an Australian community sample (n = 1,617) using a network analysis approach. Psychometrically validated self-report instruments were used to assess six types of POBs: problematic online gaming, cyberchondria, problematic cybersex, problematic online shopping, problematic use of social networking sites, and problematic online gambling. A tetrachoric correlation matrix was computed to explore relationships between online activities and a network analysis was used to analyze relationships between POBs. Correlations between online activities were positive and significant, but of small magnitude (0.051 ≤ r ≤ 0.236). The community detection analysis identified six distinct communities, corresponding to each POB, with strong relationships between items within each POB and weaker relationships between POBs. These findings provide further empirical support for the spectrum hypothesis, suggesting that POBs occur as distinct entities and with little overlap.
网络或智能手机使用问题以及网络或智能手机成瘾的概念有效性一直存在广泛争议。频谱假说认为，有问题的在线行为（POB）可能在一系列相关但不同的实体范围内被概念化。迄今为止，该假说已得到初步支持，但仍需要进一步有力的实证研究。本研究使用网络分析方法在澳大利亚社区样本（n = 1617）中测试了POB的频谱假说。使用经过心理测量验证的自我报告工具来评估六种类型的POB：有问题的在线游戏、网络疑病症、有问题的网络性行为、有问题的网上购物、有问题的社交网站使用以及有问题的网络赌博。计算四分相关矩阵以探索在线活动之间的关系，并使用网络分析来分析POB之间的关系。在线活动之间的相关性为正且显著，但幅度较小（0.051≤r≤0.236）。社区检测分析确定了六个不同的社区，分别对应于每个POB，每个POB内的项目之间关系紧密，而POB之间的关系较弱。这些发现为频谱假说提供了进一步的实证支持，表明POB作为不同的实体出现且几乎没有重叠。
