Processes discriminating adaptive and maladaptive Internet use among European adolescents highly engaged online

Eleni C Tzavela; Chryssoula Karakitsou; Michael Dreier; Foteini Mavromati; Klaus Wölfling; Eva Halapi; George Macarie; Szymon Wójcik; Lydian Veldhuis; Artemis K Tsitsika

doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.12.003

Processes discriminating adaptive and maladaptive Internet use among European adolescents highly engaged online

J Adolesc. 2015 Apr:40:34-47. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.12.003. Epub 2015 Jan 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Adolescent Health Unit (AHU), Second Department of Pediatrics, P & A. Kyriakou Children's Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (N.K.U.A.), Greece. Electronic address: et@intec.gr.
² Deree, The American College of Greece, Greece.
³ Outpatient Clinic for Behavioral Addictions Mainz/Clinic and Polyclinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (UMC-Mainz), Germany.
⁴ Adolescent Health Unit (AHU), Second Department of Pediatrics, P & A. Kyriakou Children's Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (N.K.U.A.), Greece.
⁵ University of Akureyri Research Center (UNAK), Akureyri, Iceland.
⁶ Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi (UMF), Romania.
⁷ Nobody's Children Foundation (NCF), Poland.
⁸ IVO Addiction Research Institute, Heemraadssingel 194, 3021 DM Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

PMID: 25617526
DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.12.003

Abstract

Today adolescents are highly engaged online. Contrary to common concern, not all highly engaged adolescents develop maladaptive patterns of internet use. The present qualitative study explored the experiences, patterns and impact of use of 124 adolescents (M(age) = 16.0) reporting signs of internet addictive behaviors. The focus was to discern adaptive and maladaptive use patterns, which promote or interfere with adolescents' development, respectively. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted in seven European countries (Greece, Spain, Poland, Germany, Romania, Netherlands and Iceland) and qualitatively analyzed using grounded theory. Considerable variability emerged in the way adolescents satisfied their personal needs online and offline, in the experienced impact from high online engagement and functional value ascribed to the internet, and in the self-regulatory processes underlying use. Variability in these discriminating processes was linked to adaptive or maladaptive adolescent internet use patterns. The emerged processes can provide direction for designing prevention and intervention programs promoting adaptive use.

Keywords: Adaptive–maladaptive patterns; Adolescence; High online engagement; Internet use; Qualitative research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological*
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
Adolescent Development*
Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
Europe
Female
Humans
Internet*
Male
Object Attachment*