Search

Copyright of Philosophy & Canon Law is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Slaskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) is defined broadly as unwanted or unwelcome sexual behavior involving the use of technology, including online sexual harassment, online gender or sexuality-based harassment, online image-based abuse (colloquially known as "revenge porn"), and online sexual aggression/coercion (colloquially known as "sextortion"). The purpose of this study was to explore the victim impact of TFSV and to critically examine the positioning of TFSV as a gender-based harm; that is, a harm directed primarily towards women. This study employed a mixed methods approach, integrating quantitative online survey data (N = 333; Mage = 33.91 years; 63% women) with qualitative interview data (N = 10; Agerange = 24-46; 50% women) to gain a more comprehensive understanding of TFSV. We found that victims of TFSV experienced anxiety, stress, depression, loss of control, mistrust, multiple victimizations, poor academic/occupation functioning, problematic alcohol consumption, embarrassment, and online behavior changes (e.g., limiting personal information online) due to TFSV victimization. Individuals who experienced online image-based abuse reported greater distress on items of depression, anxiety, and occupational/academic functioning than did victims of other types of TFSV. The current study provides partial support for the gender similarities hypothesis that TFSV is not exclusively a gender-based harm; our findings suggest that women and men's TFSV experiences are similar for most TFSV types. Overall, the present study demonstrates the negative impact TFSV has for both women and men and highlights the need for greater awareness and increased support for all victims of this form of sexual violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Digital Education Review is the property of University of Barcelona, Virtual Teaching & Learning Research Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: Problematic Internet use (PIU) is one of the most relevant conditions within the so-called "behavioral addictions" or "non-substance addictions". Since the end of the last century, the Internet has been designated as a revolutionary tool, capable of changing forever, amongst other things, the way we access information and communicate. On the other hand, its several opportunities are potentially capable of becoming an addiction characterized by the establishment and the perpetration of pathological behaviors, as much as the classic psychoactive substances or other activities (grouped in the heterogeneous complex of behavioral addictions) closely related to the dopaminergic circuits and the activation of the reward system. The purpose of this paper is to review the available scientific literature on PIU, starting from the still debated diagnostic framework to its clinical characteristics and possible therapeutic implications. Method: A research was conducted through PubMed and Google Scholar, according to the PRISMA guidelines, combining the terms "problematic Internet use", "Internet abuse", "Internet addiction", "behavioral addictions". Results: Problematic Internet use (PIU) has a worldwide prevalence of about 6%, with higher rates in Southeast Asian countries and in younger age groups. The clinical picture is extremely variable. Besides the typical symptoms of addictions, characterized by tolerance, abstinence, relapse and negative consequences on global functioning, important somatic symptoms are reported, ranging from low back pain to episodes of photosensitive epilepsy. There is a frequent correlation with mood disorders, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders, as well as frequent comorbidity with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The treatment of PIU consists of both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches, where the best strategy seems to be a therapeutic path built "ad hoc" on the patient, also taking into account possible subtypes of PIU (i.e. the pathological behavior that is implemented through the use of the Internet). However, the numerous aspects still needed to be clarified, starting with the validation of universal diagnostic criteria, compromise a complete definition of PIU, with consequent deficits ranging from the absence of nosographic recognition to the lack of official therapeutic guidelines. Conclusions: Problematic Internet use (PIU) represents an entity still waiting for a precise psychiatric nosology diagnostic autonomy within DSM. Although in the last years important progress has been made in delineating the key characteristics of this disorder, the uncertainty of the nosographic framework still remains to date, also because of the heterogeneity of the clinical picture and the coexistence, within the wider category of PIU, of numerous sub-categories of disorders depending on the type of pathological use that the individual makes of the Internet. Consequently, the treatment encounters a similar ambiguity, with lacking guidelines, which are mostly based on the treatment indications for similar disorders. In the future, further studies are needed to shed light on the nuclear aspects of PIU, in order to provide a more tailored treatment to subjects suffering from this dramatically emerging form of behavioral addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The violence to women in the world is still happening, about 38% and 19.5% as percentage in dating with opposite sex. The most violence is psychological/emotional violence with 77 percent. The use of social media for adolescents has negative effect as the way of psychological violence that effect their mental health. Methods : The methodology of this study was systematic review that conducted by journals search through online databases of Proquest, Science Direct, and Sage Publications from 2009-2019. The keywords of searching were PICO-S (population-study intervention outcomes compare design ) by using Query dating violence and internet abuse and social media and psychological abuse and adolescent. There are 6 journals that support research inclusion criteria. Findings : Based on 6 journal articles analyzed about the use of social media and adolescents’ dating violence include actions such as compulsion, over jealous, and aggressive on social media. The violence starts from sixth grader of primary school and improves in middle high school and senior high school. Conclusion :The use of social media effects on dating violence then become problems on psychology health such as reproductive process in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risks emanating from the abusive use of the Internet are on the rise, especially among young adults causing psychological problems in their social and personal lifestyles. To date, there are only two validated measures in the Italian language to measure the risk of Internet addiction. This study served to validate an Italian version of the Internet Abusive Use Questionnaire (IAUQ-I) via a translation-backtranslation process. A sample of 289 Italian university students participated in the study (73.70% females). The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis established the unidimensional factorial structure of the scale. Validity and reliability analyses indicated adequate results concerning the psychometric properties of the Italian IAUQ-I. We also found an association between IAUQ-I and self-esteem, and personality traits. This study shows that the IAUQ-I represents a valid instrument for measuring the abusive use of the Internet and could be used not only for further epidemiological studies, but also to inform practitioners working with persons addicted to technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of the study is to examine the relationships between early adolescents' low effortful control, middle adolescents' internalizing problems and late adolescents' Internet abuse, focusing on the mediating role that middle adolescents' internalizing problems may play in the relationship between early adolescents' low effortful control and late adolescents' Internet abuse. The study followed a sample of 482 adolescents (245 boys and 237 girls) from early adolescence (wave 1; mean age = 14.76, SD = 0.63), through middle adolescence (wave 2; mean age = 15.77, SD = 0.61), to late adolescence (wave 3; mean age = 17.88, SD = 0.57). The participants completed self-report questionnaires on temperament in wave 1 and on internalizing problems and Internet abuse in all three waves. Data from the mediation model showed that internalizing problems in middle adolescence mediated the relationship between low effortful control in early adolescence and Internet abuse in late adolescence. Highlights • We found a predictive role of low effortful control on late adolescents' internet abuse. • We found that internalizing problems mediate the above relationship. • Predictive and mediation roles were highlighted in a three wave longitudinal design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Work Forum / Fórum Sociální Práce is the property of Charles University Prague, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Empirical evidence has revealed various factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of Internet abuse. The aim of this paper was to analyze, on a sample of Spanish adolescents, the relationship between Internet abuse and: (1) Personal and interpersonal risk factors, including social skills in both virtual and real-life contexts; (2) Drug use. A total of 814 high school students aged between 13 and 17 participated in this study, and were divided into two groups: Internet Abusers (IA = 173) and Non-Internet Abusers (NIA = 641). Questionnaires were used to analyze Internet and drug use/abuse, as well as social skills, in virtual and real contexts. Various interpersonal risk factors (family and group of friends) were also assessed. IA showed a more severe pattern of Internet and drug use, as well as poorer social skills in both contexts. Moreover, their groups of friends appeared more likely to become involved in risky situations related to Internet and drug abuse. Both IA and NIA showed more adaptive social skills in the virtual context than in the real one. There is a need for further research to build on these findings, with a view to designing specific preventive programs that promote responsible Internet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates whether a personality variable (Locus of Control) and motivational factors rooted in Uses & Gratifications theory (the desire for virtual community, beautiful websites, maintaining interpersonal relations, and the desire for diversion & entertainment) predict Internet abuse at work in the form of shopping, searching for information unrelated to work, and communicating with friends. Data were analyzed for 320 participants, all of whom were employed and had access to computers at work. Results indicate that external Locus of Control predicts all three forms of Internet abuse. The desire to use the Internet for diversion and entertainment purposes predicts only online shopping and searching for non-work-related information. Results suggest that factors predicting some forms of Internet abuse may not predict other forms of Internet abuse. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Domain Name System (DNS) plays a crucial role in connecting services and users on the Internet. Since its first specification, DNS has been extended in numerous documents to keep it fit for today's challenges and demands. And these challenges are many. Revelations of snooping on DNS traffic led to changes to guarantee confidentiality of DNS queries. Attacks to forge DNS traffic led to changes to shore up the integrity of the DNS. Finally, denial-of-service attack on DNS operations have led to new DNS operations architectures. All of these developments make DNS a highly interesting, but also highly challenging research topic. This tutorial – aimed at graduate students and early-career researchers – provides a overview of the modern DNS, its ongoing development and its open challenges. This tutorial has four major contributions. We first provide a comprehensive overview of the DNS protocol. Then, we explain how DNS is deployed in practice. This lays the foundation for the third contribution: a review of the biggest challenges the modern DNS faces today and how they can be addressed. These challenges are (i) protecting the confidentiality and (ii) guaranteeing the integrity of the information provided in the DNS, (iii) ensuring the availability of the DNS infrastructure, and (iv) detecting and preventing attacks that make use of the DNS. Last, we discuss which challenges remain open, pointing the reader towards new research areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The present study investigated three issues: (i) whether Internet abusers display a depressive state without a depressive trait; (ii) which symptoms are shared between Internet abuse and depression; and (iii) which personality characteristics were shown in Internet abusers. Methods Ninety-nine male and 58 female participants aged 18-24 years were screened with the Chen Internet Addiction Scale. After screening, subjects were separated into the high- ( n = 73) and low-risk ( n = 84) Internet abuser groups. Participants were respectively administered the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory- II to assess a depressive state and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 to assess a depressive trait. Results The present results showed that high-risk Internet abusers exhibited a stronger depressive state than low-risk Internet abusers in the Beck Depression Inventory- II. However, high-risk Internet abusers didnot show a depressive trait in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 compared to low-risk Internet abusers. Therefore, high-risk Internet abuse participants exhibited a depressive state without a depressive trait. Conclusions In a comparison of the symptoms of depression and Internet abuse, it was found that high-risk Internet abuse participants shared some common behavioral mechanisms with depression, including the psychiatric symptoms of loss of interest, aggressive behavior, depressive mood, and guilty feelings. High-risk Internet abuse participants may be more susceptible to a temporal depressive state but not a permanent depressive trait. The present findings have clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of Internet abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet introduced a global change in the methods and speed of communication, exerting significant influence on the quality of life of a "common individual". This influence can be observed in all spheres of social life in our environment. Nevertheless, positive and constructive achievements of modern information technology also caused a series of problems related to the emergence and expansion of diverse forms of computer crime. This is a relatively new form of criminal behavior that exhibits major phenomenological diversity and that cannot be defined by a single definition. Even though certain definitions have been adopted, the phenomenon of cyber crime has appeared as a much broader concept. There are numerous documents that classify various forms of cyber crime. The fact is that uncontrolled and aimless use of the Internet implies numerous dangers. Internet abuse is often associated with pornography, which implies that various websites with illegal content also influence the long-term "poisoning" of children. Despite the primary and essential role of the parents, the support of all social segments is necessary in order to raise collective awareness through media and educational campaigns dedicated to youth and children, all for the purpose of providing information about potential Internet abuses and methods of safe usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate potential Internet abuse by university students, an area lacking research focus in Africa. A case study was conducted at the University of The Gambia (UTG) in 2012. A total of 200 questionnaires were randomly administered to UTG students and 181 valid responses were available for analyses. The result indicates that about 18% of UTG students use the Internet for unspecified activities, demonstrating attributes that could reveal potential Internet abuse. Considering the negative implications of this phenomenon, African researchers cannot afford to neglect this theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of information and communications technology often results in early adoption, followed by concern over a digital divide, followed by mass adoption and then, inevitably, abuse and misuse of that platform. The most recent of these technologies is social networking services. The early adopters used Friendster and MySpace, and the masses now use Facebook and Twitter. The abuse of people on these platforms was called Cyberbullying in the case of the first two in the 2000s, and Internet trolling in the case of the second two in the 2010s. This paper reviews the legislation enacted in the UK parliament between 1981 and 2012 to deal with these offences, called ‘flame trolling’, for those based on transgress humour, or electronic message faults more generally. The paper presents a framework that includes a ‘Trolling Magnitude Scale’ based on established trolling culture, in order to link the legislative offences to the severities of those faults, as well as to the ability of specific Internet users to tolerate them or otherwise. The paper concludes that by using this framework law enforcement agencies such as the police can apply the laws more fairly and proportionally to protect free speech and at the same time be tough on the causes of electronic message faults in the form of Internet abuse and data misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examined whether and how Flow and Telepresence associate with Internet Abuse. [•] Second, we investigated gender and age differences in the three variables. [•] We tested 1609 high school students. [•] Flow and Telepresence significantly associated with Internet Abuse with Telepresence moderating flow. [•] Males were higher in Internet Abuse, Flow and Telepresence, while older adolescents scored higher in Telepresence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There have been few reported incidents of sexual abuse within nurseries until recently, when abuse has come to light as a result of investigations into online sexual offending. This paper uses information from serious case reviews to compare two of these incidents with a view to understanding the factors that might contribute to abuse taking place within nurseries. Information from the reviews points to the context and culture of the nursery environment being of key importance, particularly the degree to which relationships and the emotional health of the setting allow the offender to assume a position of power within the group. This has implications for the way in which nurseries are managed and regulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current generation of college students commonly uses the Internet for myriad sexually-related purposes. Yet, it has been suggested that usage of the Internet for sexual purposes might lead to psychological problems. In this study, undergraduate students from a public university in the U.S. ( n = 320) and Peru ( n = 251) completed questionnaires addressing their online sexual activity (OSA), psychological adjustment, and family environment and communication. Results indicated that Peruvians used the Internet significantly more than U.S. students to view sexually-explicit material (SEM), find sexual partners, and search for sex-related information. Men, irrespective of nationality, used the Internet to view SEM significantly more than women. Social support, religiosity, and erotophilia were found to moderate the relations between nationality and OSA. In absolute terms, both national groups, on average, engaged in OSA a relatively low number of hours each week. Further, no differences were found in maladjustment between those who engage in OSA and those who do not, suggesting that concerns over OSA are probably unwarranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reveals the phenomenon of the Internet abuse among the risk group teenagers, its reasons and caused problems. Also, it discusses the implementation of the prevention activities at school. The summarized scientific literature is illustrated by the results of the empirical investigation. The research has revealed that the risk group teenagers are more likely to abuse the Internet. It is determined by lack of parents' or tutors' control, their low computer literacy expertise, the teenagers' own problems (sense of loneliness, lack of meaningful free time activities). The results have also revealed that the Internet abuse prevention at school is not satisfactory: information is sufficient and there is a lack of attractive means of prevention, collaboration among school, family and community is not sufficient as well as teachers' competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on exploring Internet abuse among teenagers and its relations to some Internet usage patterns and demographic characteristics in a digitalizing country, Turkey. It was designed as a cross--sectional research on three types of school that differ in their academic performances. The data were collected from 1380 high school students through a paper--based questionnaire. The results identified a small portion of students as Internet abusers experiencing severe problems and one fourth as possible abusers experiencing occasional problems in their lives. Excessive use, tolerance, preoccupation with the Internet, and using the Internet to escape from negative feelings were the most frequently reported symptoms of disturbed patterns of online behaviors. One--way between--groups ANOVA tests revealed that Internet abuse differed significantly based on gender and perceived academic achievement with small effect sizes, and frequency of Internet use, dominant place of Internet use and dominant purpose for Internet use with medium and large effect sizes. On the contrary, no significant differences were found based on perceived socio--economic status and the type of school attended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates whether a personality variable (Locus of Control) and motivational factors rooted in Uses & Gratifications theory (the desire for virtual community, beautiful websites, maintaining interpersonal relations, and the desire for diversion & entertainment) predict Internet abuse at work in the form of shopping, searching for information unrelated to work, and communicating with friends. Data were analyzed for 320 participants, all of whom were employed and had access to computers at work. Results indicate that external Locus of Control predicts all three forms of Internet abuse. The desire to use the Internet for diversion and entertainment purposes predicts only online shopping and searching for non-work-related information. Results suggest that factors predicting some forms of Internet abuse may not predict other forms of Internet abuse. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: College students (n =140) were examined to test whether sensation seeking and perceived stress would predict abuse of the Internet. Previous studies have found that disinhibition, boredom susceptibility, and total sensation seeking scores were related to Internet abuse (). Because stress has been documented to have a negative effect on students (), and may be linked to Internet use (), it was tested as a possible predictor of Internet abuse. This study also analyzed abuse of the Internet for sexual purposes, because sexuality is prevalent online, and college students are in an age of sexual exploration. Results of stepwise regression analyses revealed that disinhibition and total perceived stress were predictive of Internet abuse for sexual purposes, and perceived hopelessness and boredom susceptibility were predictive of Internet abuse for non-sexual purposes. Implications for students and Internet abuse are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet provides numerous resources and services that enable communication, information sharing and improved research, innovation and productivity. However, alongside the positive uses of the Internet are also negative uses, which are of growing concern. This study investigated perceptions and experiences of positive and negative uses of the Internet among users of cybercafés in Ogun State Nigeria. Using survey research design and stratified random sampling technique, a questionnaire was designed and used to collect data from 765 Internet users and managers of 24 cybercafés selected by stratified sampling technique. The results showed that the major reasons for positive Internet uses are exchanging e-mail (85.1%), searching for research materials (68%), and web browsing and chatting (58.6%). Major users of the Internet in the cybercafés were students of higher institutions, job seekers, unemployed graduates, lecturers and other workers in higher institutions, secondary school students, and school leavers. These users reported that they had observed or been the targets of the following kinds of negative uses of the Internet: online fraud and deception (78% of the them), pornography (70.6%), chatting with dubious intent (64.7%), unauthorised access to files (55.6%), posting of provocative and sexually Afr. J. Lib, Arch. & Inf. Sc. Vol. 20, No. 1 (2010) 19 - 27 Internet Utilisation and Abuses in Selected Cybercafés in Ogun State, Nigeria suggestive photographs (54%), spamming (51.8%), overuse/addiction (51.5%), and use of harmful influence sites (50.6%). Respondents reported that Internet abusers were mainly students of higher institutions, unemployed graduates, school leavers, students in secondary school, and job seekers. The study recommends Internet education campaigns, Internet use policies, and monitoring and access control measures to combat Internet abuses in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the use of the Internet in organizations continues to grow, so does Internet abuse in the workplace. Internet abuse activities by employees-such as online chatting, gaming, investing, shopping, illegal downloading, pornography, and cybersex-and online crimes are inflicting severe costs to organizations in terms of productivity losses, resource wasting, security risks, and legal liabilities. Organizations have started to fight back via Internet usage policies, management training, and monitoring. Internet filtering software products are finding an increasing number of adoptions in organizations. These products mainly rely on blacklists, whitelists, and keyword/profile matching. In this paper, we propose a text mining approach to Internet abuse detection. We have empirically compared a variety of term weighting, feature selection, and classification techniques for Internet abuse detection in the workplace of software programmers. The experimental results are very promising; they demonstrate that the proposed approach would effectively complement the existing Internet filtering techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess Internet use, abuse, and dependence. Participants: 411 undergraduate students. Results: Ninety percent of participants reported daily Internet use. Approximately half of the sample met criteria for Internet abuse, and one-quarter met criteria for Internet dependence. Men and women did not differ on the mean amount of time accessing the Internet each day; however, the reasons for accessing the Internet differed between the 2 groups. Depression was correlated with more frequent use of the Internet to meet people, socially experiment, and participate in chat rooms, and with less frequent face-to-face socialization. In addition, individuals meeting criteria for Internet abuse and dependence endorsed more depressive symptoms, more time online, and less face-to-face socialization than did those not meeting the criteria. Conclusions: Mental health and student affairs professionals should be alert to the problems associated with Internet overuse, especially as computers become an integral part of college life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet abuse in the workplace (a.k.a. cyber-slacking) has become a pervasive problem for employers. When employees abuse the Internet through activities like online gaming, online shopping, personal investment managing, personal emailing, chatting, media watching and viewing pornography, they waste work time and reduce available bandwidth. Existing research has failed to build consensus about who is most likely to cyber-slack. This study examines individuals from the United States, Asia, and India and develops clusters of typical patterns of cyber-slacking and examines the impact of demographic and work related factors on predicting individual cluster membership. The results reveal that young executives are the most likely to cyber-slack and a further qualitative analysis reveals that the pressure of their jobs are compelling them to look for stress relievers and the Internet is an easy resource. In addition, young executive's high degree of autonomy also appears to perpetuate their propensity to cyber-slack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that maladaptive patterns of Internet use constitute behavioral addiction. This article explores the research on the social effects of Internet addiction. There are four major sections. The Introduction section overviews the field and introduces definitions, terminology, and assessments. The second section reviews research findings and focuses on several key factors related to Internet addiction, including Internet use and time, identifiable problems, gender differences, psychosocial variables, and computer attitudes. The third section considers the addictive potential of the Internet in terms of the Internet, its users, and the interaction of the two. The fourth section addresses current and projected treatments of Internet addiction, suggests future research agendas, and provides implications for educational psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the evolving sophistication of the Internet and the World Wide Web abuses in Africa. It begins by reviewing known abuses worldwide. It also reviews the various technology solutions in place to reduce the abuses. The paper notes that the various security measures and protocols identified require human intervention based on trust. It argues that human behaviors are unpredictable, and that human trust cannot always be absolutely guaranteed as they can at any point in time compromise their integrity. The paper also notes on-going efforts of some African countries at updating their country laws. The author proposes the creation and enforcement of new international Laws that would compliment country laws and preserve basic civil rights in the electronic environment as a way of bringing sanity into the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Such Laws must particularly incorporate measures that would prevent governmental abuses. The paper also suggests the formation of a separate international court with exclusive jurisdiction over the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Internet use has proliferated worldwide, there has been debate whether some users develop disturbed patterns of Internet use (i.e., Internet abuse). This article highlights relevant literature on Internet abuse and computer-mediated communication effects that supports and disputes major questions about Internet abuse. Is the addiction paradigm appropriate for Internet use? Is behavior that has been labeled Internet abuse symptomatic of other problems such as depression, sexual disorders, or loneliness? What are alternative explanations for this phenomenon? Is there adequate research to sup- port Internet abuse as a distinct disorder? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined excessive Internet use of Taiwanese adolescents and a psychological aspect of users, sensation seeking, thus to differentiate motivation of Internet dependents and non-dependents. Seven hundred and fifty three Taiwanese high school students were selected using cluster sampling and 88 of them were categorized as Internet dependent users. Results indicated that Internet dependents spent more time on-line than non-dependents. While Internet dependents perceived significantly more negative Internet influences on daily routines, school performance, and parental relation than non-dependents, both Internet dependents and non-dependents viewed Internet use as enhancing peer relations. Making friends through the Internet has become a popular activity among adolescents, potentially leading to its excessive use. Internet dependents scored significantly higher on overall sensation seeking and disinhibition than Internet non-dependents. However, both groups did not differ in the life experience seeking subscale and thrill and adventure seeking subscale. This finding contradicts that of Lavin, Marvin, McLarney, Nola, and Scott [CyberPsychol. Behav. 2 (2000) 425]. Possible reasons for this discrepancy and for the relation between Internet dependence and disinhibition in Taiwanese adolescents are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Leon and Rotunda are right to call attention to the problems associated with excessive computer and Internet use and to the computer's potential for both adaptive and maladaptive consequences. To decide when computer use is a problem, it makes sense to adapt criteria used for pathological gambling and substance abuse. Although excessive computer use is a new problem on the college psychotherapy scene, the psychological issues underlying this problem are familiar ones: the struggles for intimacy, self-understanding, identity and selfworth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]