Smartphone Addiction and Its Relationship with Indices of Social-Emotional Distress and Personality Abstract We examined the relationships among smartphone addiction, social-emotional distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and loneliness), and personality traits among 150 undergraduate college students. Participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale, the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3, and the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor Inventory-3. Results showed that the more students were addicted to their smartphone, the higher their reported social-emotional distress was. Additionally, logistic analyses supported the predictive nature of smartphone addiction on specific domains of social-emotional distress. Personality did not moderate the relationship between smartphone addiction and social-emotional distress. However, neuroticism had a positive relationship with smartphone addiction, while extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientious all had a negative relationship with smartphone addiction. Overall, these findings can inform assessment and interventions targeted at reducing smartphone use and improving mental health of college students. Research implications are also provided considering the infancy of studying the effects of smartphone use on psychological well-being.

Exploring Residential Models of Care for Treatment of Infectious Complications Among People Who Inject Drugs: a Systematic Review Abstract This article identifies, compares, and assesses residential models of care to treat infectious complications among people who inject drugs (PWID) through intravenous antibiotic (IV) therapy. Database searches in Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Studies were performed. A Google web search was also performed. Studies published in English between 2000 and May 2017 that presented data on an out-of-hospital residential program for IV antibiotic treatment of infectious complications among PWID were included. Of the 2355 unique articles screened, 218 were reviewed in their entirety and three were included. Across the three included studies, no mortalities were reported during the study. Each study reported similar outcomes compared to in-hospital care. In the two studies reporting costs, residential care was substantially less expensive. This review indicates that residential treatment appears to be beneficial to PWID, hospitals, and the health care system.

Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, Resilience and Mental Health Among Immigrant and Canadian-Born Pakistani Youth Abstract This study presents select findings from the quantitative arm of a mixed-method community-based study. The study  examines ethnic identity, self-esteem, resilience, and mental health in immigrant and Canadian-born Pakistani youth from a systems perspective. Sixty-one youth aged 18–24 years participated in a survey; among these, 28 completed the survey online and 33 completed the paper-based version. Youth reported on demographics, physical health, mental, and social health, and completed the 4-item Current Self-Esteem Scale (CSE), the 15-item Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12). Descriptives’ analysis was applied to the numeric items and content analysis was applied to open-ended questions. Among the sample, 34% youth were male and 66% females, 69% were Pakistani-born, and 20% were Canadian-born. About 36% of the youth had been in Canada for 5 years or less, and 10% reported 5–10 years of stay. Eighty percent of youth (n = 46) reported good to excellent mental health, and 74% felt stressed on most days. Scores for self-esteem (CSE) [6.5 (2.13 SD)], Ethnic Identity MEIM [3.14 (0.21 SD)], and resilience (CYRM-12) [4.23 (0.23 SD)] were moderate to high. Academic success and religious and family connectedness were found to have a positive effect on youth sense of self. Higher levels of ethnic identity and higher rating on mental health in our sample suggests the healthy immigrant effect.

The Development of the Turkish Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS): A Validation Study Abstract As the use of digital technology has increased, abuse and addiction to technology have been identified among a minority of users. In the mid-1990s, the concept of internet addiction was first used. Today, almost every digital technology use has been claimed to have a minority of disordered users. One key aspect of addictive substance behaviors is craving. Craving is also an important component of behavioral addictions including digital technology disorders such as Internet Gaming Disorder. The aim of the present study was to develop the Turkish version of the Craving for Internet Gaming Scale (CIGS) via an adaptation of the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS). The present study comprised 368 adolescents from four different samples. The measures used included the Craving for Internet Gaming Scale, Digital Game Addiction Scale, and Brief Self-Control Scale. The structural validity of CIGS was investigated with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and criterion validity. The reliability of CIGS was evaluated using Cronbach α internal consistency reliability coefficient and corrected item total correlation coefficients. As a result of EFA, it was found that the five-item CIGS had a single-factor structure. The unidimensional CIGS obtained as a result of EFA was tested with CFA. As a result of CFA, the unidimensional structure of CIGS was confirmed in two different samples. Criterion validity of CIGS was assessed via digital gaming addiction, self-discipline, impulsiveness, daily internet gaming duration, and internet gaming history. As a result of criterion analysis, CIGS was associated with these variables in the expected direction. Finally, according to reliability analysis, the CIGS was found to be a reliable scale. When validity and reliability analysis of the CIGS are considered as a whole, it is concluded that the CIGS is a valid and reliable scale that assesses craving for internet gaming.

Item Response Theory Analysis of the Recoded Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) Abstract Based on the nine criteria for Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in DSM-5, the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale 9-Short Form (IGDS9-SF; Pontes and Griffiths 2015) is the most widely used questionnaire for assessing IGD. The present study examined support for the unidimensional factor structure of the instrument, with a group of 868 adolescent and adult gamers from the USA, with criteria recoded as present or absent. The two-parameter logistic model (2PLM) was used to examine the item response theory properties of the criteria included in the measure. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor model. The 2PLM analysis indicated that all the criteria were strong discriminators of high and low latent IGD. Furthermore, the items measured more of the GAD dimension and with more precision from around +2 SD from the mean trait level. The implications of the findings for interpreting the IGDS9-SF scores for clinical practice are discussed.

A Stress-Coping Model of Problem Online Video Game Use Abstract It is argued that problem video game use (PVGU) has similarities with behavioral addictions such as problem gambling. Unlike other addictions, the predictors of online PVGU have not been studied extensively. We applied a stress-coping model, previously developed for electronic gambling addiction, to PVGU. In this model, stressors lead to excessive behavior via maladaptive coping strategies involving the behavior. Video game players (N = 2261) completed an online questionnaire about their gaming habits, and self-report measures of depression, loneliness, social anxiety, and escapism and social interaction motives for gaming. Consistent with the stress-coping model, depression, loneliness, and social anxiety predicted levels of PVGU, these effects being partially mediated by escapism and social interaction motives for gaming. The pattern of mediation differed by gamers’ preferred game genre in a way that suggested “First Person Shooter” games provide an escape from aversive states, while, in addition to providing escape, massively multiplayer online role playing games, which emphasize collaborative play, may also be supplementing or substituting for face-to-face social interactions.

Problematic Internet Use, Social Needs, and Social Support Among Youth Abstract The Internet is essential for the teenagers and young adults who are spending hours online every day. In an effort to better understand the role of the Internet in their lives, we hypothesized that users increased their online time for social reasons. In this online survey, 408 (204 girls and 204 boys; aged between 14 and 24 years) participants were recruited from high schools and universities. The questionnaire included scales about the problematic Internet use (PIU), need to belong, shyness, loneliness, and perceived social support. PIU was directly related to a higher need to belong, higher shyness, and higher loneliness. The perceived support was associated indirectly with PIU. Loneliness showed the most decisive role in the development of PIU, and social support also contributed through this variable. Our data indicate that social support from the offline environment can be a protective factor against PIU, emphasizing the important roles of friends and family.

Problematic Online Behaviors among Adolescents and Emerging Adults: Associations between Cyberbullying Perpetration, Problematic Social Media Use, and Psychosocial Factors Abstract Over the past two decades, young people’s engagement in online activities has grown markedly. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between two specific online behaviors (i.e., cyberbullying perpetration, problematic social media use) and their relationships with social connectedness, belongingness, depression, and self-esteem among high school and university students. Data were collected from two different study groups via two questionnaires that included the Cyberbullying Offending Scale, Social Media Use Questionnaire, Social Connectedness Scale, General Belongingness Scale, Short Depression-Happiness Scale, and Single Item Self-Esteem Scale. Study 1 comprised 804 high school students (48% female; mean age 16.20 years). Study 2 comprised 760 university students (60% female; mean age 21.48 years). Results indicated that problematic social media use and cyberbullying perpetration (which was stronger among high school students) were directly associated with each other. Belongingness (directly) and social connectedness (indirectly) were both associated with cyberbullying perpetration and problematic social media use. Path analysis demonstrated that while age was a significant direct predictor of problematic social media use and cyberbullying perpetration among university students, it was not significant among high school students. In both samples, depression was a direct predictor of problematic social media use and an indirect predictor of cyberbullying perpetration. However, majority of these associations were relatively weak. The present study significantly adds to the emerging body of literature concerning the associations between problematic social media use and cyberbullying perpetration.

Determining The Relationship of Over-Exercise to Smartphone Overuse and Emotional Intelligence Levels in Gym-Goers: the Example of Burdur, Turkey Abstract This study aims to determine the relationship of exercise dependence to smartphone addiction and the emotional intelligence levels of gym-goers in the province of Burdur, Turkey. The study is a cross-sectional epidemiological research study. The research data were collected between 15 March and 1 June, 2017. The population of the study consisted of 822 individuals who exercised regularly (at least three times a week) in fitness centers located in the province of Burdur. An attempt was made to reach the entire population without sample selection. Seven hundred seventy-eight individuals were reached. The participation level of the study was 94.6%. The “Personal Information Form”, the “Exercise Dependence Scale-21” (EDS-21), the “Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Form-II” (SAS-SF), and the “Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale” (SEIS) were used for data collection. It was found that the individuals with over-exercise had a high level of smartphone overuse and a low level of utilization of emotions.

Adolescent Problem Video Gaming in Urban and Non-urban Regions Abstract The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in adolescent problem video gaming in a large urban area (Toronto) compared to a non-urban region of Ontario (Northern Ontario). The results of this study showed that 76.6% of adolescents in the urban region and 80.3% of adolescents in the non-urban region played video games in the past year (n = 2175). Adolescents in the urban region were significantly more likely than adolescents in the non-urban region to experience problem video gaming (16.7 and 8.8%, respectively). Males and those reporting poorer mental health were more likely to experience problem video gaming. Those who engaged in delinquent behaviors were more likely to experience problem video gaming in both regions, while problem gamblers were more likely to experience problem gaming in urban regions. Lower scholastic achievement was correlated with problem video gaming in the non-urban region.