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Background and aims: Problematic use of the internet (PUI) among adolescents has become one of the public problems around the world. Understanding the developmental trajectory of PUI may be beneficial to develop prevention and intervention. The current study aimed to identify the developmental trajectories of PUI among adolescents, considering individual differences over time. And also explored how familial factors contributed to the identified trajectories, and the relationship between PUI changes over time and social, mental health, and academic functioning. Methods: A total of 1,149 adolescents (Mage = 15.82, SD = 0.61; 55.27% girls at Wave 1) participated in assessments at four time points, using 6-month assessment intervals. Results: Based on a latent class growth model, three trajectories of PUI were identified: Low Decreasing, Moderate Increasing, and High Increasing groups. Multivariate logistic regression analyses suggested that inter-parental conflicts and childhood maltreatment served as negative familial predictors for the risk trajectories of PUI (i.e., Moderate Increasing and High Increasing groups). Additionally, adolescents in these two groups displayed more estranged interpersonal relationships, more mental health difficulties, and poorer academic functioning. Discussion and conclusions: It is important to consider individual differences in understanding the developmental patterns of PUI among adolescents. Identifying family predictors and the behavioral outcome associated with groups with different developmental trajectories of PUI, which may help to understand better risk factors related to specific developmental patterns of PUI and its adverse correlates. The findings highlight a need to develop more specific effective intervention programs for individuals displaying different problematic developmental trajectories with PUI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although previous studies have revealed gender-related differences in executive function in internet gaming disorder (IGD), neural mechanisms underlying these processes remain unclear, especially in terms of brain networks. Methods: Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 78 subjects with IGD (39 males, 20.8 ± 2.16 years old) and 72 with recreational game use (RGU) (39 males, 21.5 ± 2.56 years old). By utilizing graph theory, we calculated participation coefficients among brain network modules for all participants and analyzed the diagnostic-group-by-gender interactions. We further explored possible causal relationships between networks through spectral dynamic causal modeling (spDCM) to assess differences in between-network connections. Results: Compared to males with RGU, males with IGD demonstrated reduced modular segregation of the frontal-parietal network (FPN). Male IGD subjects also showed increased connections between the FPN and cingulo-opercular network (CON); however, these differences were not found in female subjects. Further spDCM analysis indicated that the causal influence from CON to FPN in male IGD subjects was enhanced relative to that of RGU males, while this influence was relatively reduced in females with IGD. Conclusions: These results suggest poor modular segmentation of the FPN and abnormal FPN/CON connections in males with IGD, suggesting a mechanism for male vulnerability to IGD. An increased "bottom-up" effect from the CON to FPN in male IGD subjects could reflect dysfunction between the brain networks. Different mechanisms may underlie in IGD, suggesting that different interventions may be optimal in males and females with IGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Screen media activity (SMA) consumes considerable time in youth's lives, raising concerns about the effects it may have on youth development. Disentangling mixed associations between youth's SMA and developmental measures should move beyond overall screen time and consider types and patterns of SMA. We here aimed to identify reliable and generalizable SMA patterns among youth and examine their associations with behavioral developmental measures and resting-state brain functional connectivity (RSFC). Method: Three waves of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study (ABCD) data were examined (N=11,876 at baseline). K-means clustering with sensitivity analyses were used to identify SMA patterns. The generalizability and stability of the identified SMA patterns were examined in the Lifespan Human Connectome Project in Development data (HCP-D, N=652) and ABCD follow-up waves, respectively. Relationships were examined between SMA patterns and behavioral measures and RSFC using linear-mixed-effect modelling. Results: Available SMA data from 11,817 children (Mean(SD)age = 119.0 (7.5) months; 6,159 (52.1%) boys) were examined, and 3,151 (26.7%) demonstrated a video-centric higher-frequency SMA pattern (group 1) while 8,666 (73.3%) demonstrated an overall lowerfrequency pattern (group 2). The identified patterns were validated in similarly-aged HCP-D youths. Compared to group 2, youths in group 1 showed poorer neurocognitive performance (Standardized Beta [95%CI] = -0.12 [-0.08, -0.16], p<.001, all p-values are FDR-corrected), more total behavioral problems (0.13 [0.09, 0.18], p<.001), and more severe prodromal psychotic symptomatology (0.31 [0.27, 0.36], p<.001). Group 1 demonstrated higher impulsivity, more sensitivity to punishment/reward and altered RSFC among brain areas implicated previously in cognitive processes. Most of the associations persisted with age growth, and more individuals (N=3,378, 30.4%) were assigned in the video-centric higher-frequency SMA group at one-year follow-up. Conclusion: Video-centric SMA patterns are reliable and generalizable during late childhood. Group 1 showed altered RSFC and poorer developmental measures that persisted longitudinally. The findings suggest public health strategies aiming to decrease excessive time spent by children on video-entertainment-related SMA are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problematic usage of Internet (PUI) in adolescents has become a promising domain of interest for researchers, yet valid predictors remain lacking, especially at the neural level. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the underpinning neural mechanisms associated with the PUI in adolescents. A total of 112 adolescents aged 11-15 years were recruited in the present study, of which 85 were included in the data analysis. A connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) analysis was used to explore the neurophysiological basis of resting state (RS) associated with PUI in adolescents. In addition, the reconfiguration coefficients of the positive PUI network from RS to reward task were calculated in the present study to investigate its degree of changes in brain activities across different states. Results showed that there existed a positive network pattern (216 edges) in the RS that significantly predicted the severity of PUI in adolescents, mainly involving inter- or intra-connectivity between the salience network (SN), default mode network (DMN), frontoparietal network (FPN), subcortical network (SCN). The predictive power of PUI was significantly reduced when simulating lesions in the SN-SCN, DMN-DMN, and DMN-SN. Moreover, this positive PUI network showed promising reconstruction coefficients for the RS-reward task and was significant positively correlated with adolescents' PUI. In conclusion, the present study suggested that the interactions of DMN, FPN, SN and SCN may be the neurophysiological basis of PUI in adolescents. Similarly, the smaller changes in positive PUI networks from RS-to-reward processing also may serve as a risk neural predictor for PUI in early adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]