The psychopathology specific to Substance Use Disorder is able to discriminate between young people with and without Problematic Internet Use

Background: Problematic Internet Use (PIU), which may otherwise be called excessive Internet use, is distinguished by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access; and shows high comorbidity associated with psychiatric disorders. In previous studies, our Research Group highlighted five psychopathological dimensions that appear to be specific to SUD (1-Worthlessness-Being Trapped; 2-Somatic Symptoms; 3-Sensitivity-Psychoticism; 4-Panic Anxiety and 5-Violence-Suicide). Methods: We have investigated the association between PIU and the specific psychopathology of SUD, as assessed by SCL-90, in 493 young people 16.35 +/- 0.9 years old (min 15, max 21). Of these, 244 (49.5%) were males and 249 (50.5%) females. We divided the sample according to the cut-off (15 scores) of the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire Short Form (PIUQ-SF-6) in 411 (83.4%) without and 82 (16.6%) with problematic use. We used the discriminant analysis with the SCL-90 five dimensions we found in SUD patients to differentiate these two groups. Results: The groups were homogenous regarding age (F=0.14; p=0.989) and gender (chi=0.01 p=0.920). We found no difference between males and females according to the subject's age, the SCL90 total score and the severity of PIU. The psychopathology specific to SUD discriminated (p<0.001) between subjects with and without problematic use of the Internet at 98.2%. The subjects with PIU were marked out by the high severity of the Panic Anxiety and Somatic Symptoms dimensions. They more frequently showed Panic Anxiety and, less frequently, Sensitivity-Psychoticism as their predominant psychopathological typology. Conclusions: Our five psychopathological dimensions made it possible to differentiate between young people with and without PIU, so allowing these dimensions to be considered a newly available tool in monitoring Internet use in youngsters.