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Objective: Temperament is close to susceptibility to stress and the increased level of stress may lead problematic smartphone use (PSU). In this study, the relationships between harm avoidance (HA) as a personality trait, daily traits, and PSU in children and adolescents were investigated. Methods: At baseline, all participants (184 children and adolescents, mean age 13.15 years) completed questionnaires on PSU using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) and the Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS). The Daily Hassles Questionnaire (DHQ) and Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI) were also administered to evaluate stress levels and personality traits. SAS-SV, SAPS, and DHQ were reassessed at 3 and 6 months. Results: Among JTCI temperament, HA displayed robust positive correlations with SAS-SV, SAPS, and DHQ at all time points. Mediation effects of daily stress on the relationship between HA and PSU were observed at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Conclusion: The findings suggest that managing stress may important in PSU children and adolescents with high HA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on internet gaming disorder (IGD) and the mediating effect of stress based on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model. Methods: The 2017 survey data from one community addiction management center in South Korea were analyzed. A sample of 3,593 adolescents (mean age = 13.75 years, SD = 2.22) were recruited from 23 elementary, middle and high schools and 11 local children's centers. The mediating effect was analyzed by the threestep analysis method. Results: Our study found that ACEs had a significant effect on the stress score (B = 1.420, P < 0.001) and the stress scale score had a significant effect the IGD score (B = 0.127, P < 0.001). After adjusting for the stress score in the model, ACEs had a significant effect on the IGD score (B = 0.328, P < 0.001), and the stress score had partial mediating effects (B = 0.1802, 95% C. I: 0.131-0.239). Discussion: We found that ACEs directly affect IGD and that ACEs directly affect IGD through stress in support of the I-PACE model. In the sensitivity analysis, the mediating effect of stress in the low-risk IGD group was significant, but the mediating effect of stress in the high-risk IGD group was not significant. Prior ACEs should be considered when interviewing IGD clients. In addition, enhancing stress management skills would be beneficial to IGD clients with a history of ACEs, and actions reducing exposure to ACEs in childhood are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To examine the impact of peer victimization on digital media consumption in children and adolescents Methods: After informed consent, psychosocial measurements and variables related to digital media use were collected from 186 children and adolescents recruited from three university hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area. The participants were stratified by peer victimization status and group comparisons were performed. The group that experienced peer bullying was significantly more likely to be depressed and use online pornography. However, other digital media consumption did not demonstrate significant differences between the two groups. Discussion: Peer victimization was associated with online pornography use in children and adolescents. They may use such explicit content as a means to modify their depressed mood status, resulted from bullying. Exposure to age-inappropriate or harmful content may further exert a negative impact on mental health such as shame or guilt. More attention will be required to monitor the use of digital media among children experiencing social exclusion and bullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Psychological resilience plays a significant role in many aspects of mental health. The aim of this study was to find an association between childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) features and adulthood psychological resilience in patients with mood disorders. Methods: A total of 213 patients with mood disorders including major depressive disorder or bipolar I, II disorder and 909 healthy controls were included. We assessed childhood ADHD features using the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), adulthood psychological resilience using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and current depressive mood using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression and a mediation analyses were performed to examine the relationships between three WURS factor (impulsivity, inattention, and mood instability) scores, the BDI score, and the CD-RISC score. Results: The CD-RISC score was negatively correlated with the WURS childhood inattention factor score and current BDI score in patients with mood disorders. BDI score mediated the influence of the inattention factor score on CD-RISC score among patients with mood disorders. The CD-RISC score was significantly lower in patients with mood disorders than in controls even after controlling for age, WURS scores, and the BDI score. Conclusions: An evaluation of psychological resilience is important for enhancing recovery and quality of life in patients with mood disorders. When assessing psychological resilience, current depression and ADHD features in childhood, particularly inattention, should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the purchase of loot-boxes and smartphone and gaming usage among adolescents. This study analyses by using a sample of 1,682 adolescents from the 2022 Nowon-gu Youth Digital Media Survey include Internet-usage times (IUT), IGUESS (Internet gaming disorder) and S-Scale (Problematic smartphone use), Y-PSC-17 (Pediatric symptom checklist), CAGI-GPSS (gambling disorder). The results showed 32.0% of the respondents had made in-game purchases and 17.7% had purchased loot-boxes. Adolescents made in-game purchases had significantly higher weekday and weekend 'IUT', 'IGD', 'PSU' scores than those not purchase group. Those who had purchased loot-boxes also had higher 'IUT', 'IGD', 'PSU' scores than those had not purchased loot-boxes. Additionally, adolescents who reported tolerance to loot-boxes had significantly higher weekday 'IUT', 'IGD', 'PSU', 'PSC', 'GD' scores than those not report group. Adolescents who reported failure to control their loot-box purchasing had significantly higher 'IGD' and 'PSU' scores than those not report group. Adolescents who reported withdrawal of their loot-box purchasing had significantly higher weekday 'IUT', 'IGD', 'PSU', 'PSC', 'GD' scores than those not report group. Adolescents who reported compulsive use had significantly higher weekday and weekend 'IUT', 'IGD', 'PSU', 'PSC', 'GD' scores than those not report group. In summary, it was found that adolescents who experienced purchasing loot-boxes showed significant differences in IUT, IGD, and PSU scores. Additionally, the element of addiction to loot-box showed consistently higher scores in the 'IGD' and 'PSU' scale. Therefore, appropriate guidelines and literacy education regarding loot-box purchasing among adolescents are needed, as well as prospective research and policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify risk factors that contribute to the prevalence and symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) among children aged 7-10 years. Participants were recruited from the Kids Cohort for Understanding of Internet Addiction Risk Factors in Early Childhood (K-CURE) Study in Korea. The baseline assessment, Wave 1, was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016, and follow-up assessments, Waves 2 to 8, were conducted annually for the subsequent years. Time of media use, frequency of media use, and ownership of media devices were investigated. At Wave 8, participants aged 7-10 years (mean 8.69, SD = 0.890) were assessed using a semi-structured questionnaire based on the DSM-5 criteria for IGD diagnosis. Participants who reported subthreshold symptoms or above on item 1 accounted for 13.5%, item 2 for 4.9%, item 3 for 10.3%, item 4 for 9.7%, item 5 for 5.9%, item 6 for 9%, item 7 for 9.7%, item 8 for 2.7%, item 9 for 2.7%, and item 10 for 18.4%. The prevalence of children who met the strict diagnostic criteria for IGD, namely persistent and recurrent use of the internet to engage in games, often with other players, that leads to clinically significant impairment or distress as indicated by at least five symptoms, was 5.4%. It is noteworthy that even among children aged 7-10 years, 5.4% were identified as meeting the diagnostic criteria for IGD. Identifying risk factors for IGD is crucial for early intervention and policy development to prevent the negative impact of IGD on children's health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the latent subtypes through Mental Health Literacy (MHL) for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in adolescents and confirm the differences between the subtypes in demographics, Internet usage time, the number of prevention education for IGD or problematic smartphone usage, mental health, and addiction level. Methods: For this study, secondary data was used from the 2019 smart digital media survey for youth, conducted in a district in Seoul, by the Nowon Community Addiction Center. Altogether, 1,936 middle and high school students (14-18 years old) were analyzed. Thirteen items of the MHL questionnaire were used as classification criteria for latent profile analysis (LPA). Thereafter, the difference in characteristics between the classified subtypes was confirmed by One-way ANOVA and Chi-square Test through variables such as mental health and addiction level. Results: Three latent subtypes of MHL for IGD in adolescents were identified as: "low perception-prefer traditional resources" type (12.4%), "moderate perception-prefer family resources" type (49.3%), and "high perception-prefer professional resources" type (38.3%). In addition, it was confirmed that there were differences between subtypes in terms of gender, age, Family Affluence Scale, e-learning time in weeks, mental health problems, smartphone addiction risk scores, and IGD scores. Conclusion: Based on the results, practical interventions are required including customized prevention considering the differences in characteristics among three types of adolescent MHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender approach is getting more and more relevant to gain a better understanding of femalespecific aspects of behavioural addictions and to be more responsive to women's health needs. Literature on Women Behavioural Addiction in specific female population is still scarce and often inferred from mostly male samples, and this bring us to question about how diagnostic criteria really fit to describe Behavioural Addiction's harms in female population; more women are affected by pathological gambling and other non-substance related addictions, even if they rarely ask for help: so, with little specific data, it is not easy to have dedicated research and understanding of peculiarities of this invisible population, and different reach out strategies are strongly needed to fill the gap. One key point, beyond the shame issue, is that women often experience great difficulty in finding appropriate treatment services, since most health clinics rarely offer female-specific treatment approaches or harm reduction and prevention strategies. That is why it is so important to learn from our experiences as researchers and clinicians, sharing data from all over the world to enrich our understanding of these issues. That's WHY a ROUND TABLE is the best place to discuss, compare experiences and improve research and treatment for the women on whose behalf we are working on; and the aim of our new book "Behavioural Addiction in Women: An International Female Perspective on Treatment and Research" (F. Prever, G. Blicker & L. Brandt). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the survey on smartphone overdependence in 2020 in South Korea by 'Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT)', the high-risk group was 3.7% and the potential risk group was 18.4% in 2020 for smartphone addiction in women. Since there has been little literature on female behavioral addiction in the past, the secondary data of the Nowon-gu Addiction Center project were analyzed. The survey was conducted in 2017 and included 3,937 students. Of the total 3,593, 62 (1.7%) women showed high risk for the Internet gaming disorder. The symptoms of depression, anxiety, and withdrawal of female were significantly higher than that of male. Further identification of the factors that cause a higher burden in women with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in Korea will provide a basis for establishing policies appropriate for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic Internet use is a major community mental health problem because it can pose a major challenge to the mental health of children and adolescents. It is not enough to simply treat problems after they occur, and the most effective management is achieved when primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention are applied equally to the community. Therefore, based on this public health model, we would like to introduce literacy promotion and prevention education for problematic Internet use, universal screening and short-term intervention for problem groups, and individual case management models accordingly. Currently, Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and DAGIM Plus case management programs are being implemented at Nowon Community addiction management center in Seoul. Information on this process will be provided along with the data. This will provide participants with ideas for applying good practices of community engagement to other countries and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Potential concerns are increasing that smartphone and Internet addictions may have deleterious effects on the mental health. Despite the recognition of the important role that implicit associations may have over explicit processes in addiction, such implicit associations have not been comprehensively investigated with respect to Internet addiction. Therefore, we modified the Implicit Association Test (IAT) for smartphone and Internet addictions and investigated its validity in children and adolescents. Methods: In this experimental study, 78 at-risk children and adolescents ranging in age from 7 to 17 years completed an IAT modified with pictures captured from the most popular Internet games among youth. Furthermore, measures of Internet and smartphone addictions, mental health and problem behaviors, impulsive tendencies, self-esteem, daily stress, and quality of life were assessed simultaneously. Results: Significant correlations were found between IAT D2SD scores and standardized scales for Internet (r = .28, p < .05) and smartphone (r = .33, p < .01) addictions. There were no significant correlations between IAT parameters and other scales measuring the constructs that are less relevant to the features of addiction, such as daily stress levels, impulsivity, and quality of life. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the IAT D2SD was independently and positively associated with smartphone addiction (p = .03) after controlling for other clinical correlates. Conclusions: This study demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity of this IAT as a novel measurement relating to Internet and smartphone addictions. Further longitudinal and prospective studies are needed to evaluate its potential utility in clinical and community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) proposed nine internet gaming disorder (IGD) diagnostic criteria as a condition warranting further empirical and clinical research. The aim of this study is to clarify the natural and clinical courses of IGD proposed DSM-5 in adolescents and to evaluate its risk and protective factors. Methods and analysis The Internet user Cohort for Unbiased Recognition of gaming disorder in Early Adolescence (iCURE) study is an ongoing multidisciplinary, prospective, longitudinal cohort study conducted in 21 schools in Korea. Participant recruitment commenced in March 2015 with the goal of registering 3000 adolescents. The baseline assessment included surveys on emotional, social and environmental characteristics. A parent or guardian completed questionnaires and a structured psychiatric comorbidity diagnostic interview regarding their children. Adolescents with the Internet Game Use-Elicited Symptom Screen total scores of 6 or higher were asked to participate in the clinical diagnostic interview. Two subcohorts of adolescents were constructed: a representative subcohort and a clinical evaluation subcohort. The representative subcohort comprises a randomly selected 10% of the iCURE to investigate the clinical course of IGD based on clinical diagnosis and to estimate the false negative rate. The clinical evaluation subcohort comprised participants meeting three or more of the nine IGD criteria, determined by clinical diagnostic interview, to show the clinical course of IGD. Follow-up data will be collected annually for the 3 years following the baseline assessments. The primary endpoint is 2-year incidence, remission and recurrence rates of IGD. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between exposures and outcomes as well as mediation factors will be evaluated. Ethics and dissemination This study is approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Catholic University of Korea. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been reported to affect development, cognition, attention and behavior. However, few studies have investigated preschool children with regard to these areas. We evaluated the relationship between cognition, attention and peripheral blood concentration of BDNF in preschool children. Methods: Twenty-eight children (mean age: 6.16 ± 0.60 years) were recruited. For all subjects, serum and plasma BDNF levels were assessed; intelligence was assessed using the Korean standardisation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (KEDI-WISC); attention was assessed using the computerised continuous performance test (CCPT), the children's color trails test (CCTT), the Stroop color-word test for preschool children, and the attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder rating scale (K-ARS); and finally emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the child behavior checklist (K-CBCL). We confirmed the previously reported correlations between the various psychometric properties assessed and serum and plasma levels of BDNF in our sample. Results: Serum BDNF levels were negatively correlated with both KEDI-WISC full scale IQ (FSIQ, r = -0.39, p = 0.04) and verbal IQ (VIQ, r = -0.05, p = 0.01), but not with the performance IQ (PIQ, r = -0.12, p = 0.56). There were no significant relationships between plasma BDNF level and VIQ, PIQ or FSIQ. No correlations were found between either serum or plasma level of BDNF and any of the attentional measures (CCPT, ARS, CCTT or Stroop color word test). The CBCL total behavioral problem and attention problem sections were positively correlated with plasma BDNF level (r = 0.41, p = 0.03), (r = 0.44, p = 0.02), however, no relationship was found between the serum BDNF and any of the composite CBCL measures. Conclusions: Our results suggest that high peripheral BDNF may be negatively correlated with intelligence, behavioral problems and clinical symptoms of neuro-developmental disorders such as intellectual disability in preschool children. A high peripheral BDNF concentration may, if these findings are further replicated, prove to be a useful biomarker for such issues in preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]