COVID-19, Health Habits, and Addictive Behaviors in the General Population

The lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a significant impact on daily routines and habits. New lifestyle behaviors contributed to the onset and course of mental diseases, including addictive problems. The objective of this work was to describe changes in health status during lockdown in the general population, including potentially addictive behaviors, and explore possible contributing factors. The analyzed data comprised a population-based sample of 240 individuals (73.3% women, mean age 43.8 years old). Assessments included sociodemographics and self-reports for health state and addictive behaviors. The risk of perceived worsening physical and psychological state was 21.7% and 20.0%, respectively, after the lockdown. The risk of requiring a new treatment for physical and psychological illnesses was 10.4% and 4.2%, respectively, while 2.5% of the participants started using illegal drugs and 9% initiated video game use. Finally, the statistical predictors of health worsening during the lockdown were the presence of anxiety symptoms, being unmarried, having low education levels, experiencing fears related to COVID-19 infection, and having family conflicts. This research identified vulnerability factors contributing to changes in physic and mental health, as well as those associated with addictive behaviors during lockdown. These results should be considered in further stressful situations to design personalized preventive and therapeutic plans. © Author(s).

What colour are you? Smartphone addiction traffic lights and user profiles

PurposeThe key concern nowadays is smartphone addiction and user profiles. Following the risk and protective factors framework, the authors aim to characterize smartphone users according to two levels: (1) individual: referred to the use (i.e. boredom proneness, compulsive app downloading smartphone addiction) and (2) microsystem: referred to family and peers (i.e. family harmony and phubbing). Besides, the authors will derive useful managerial implications and strategies.Design/methodology/approachFirst, an extensive literature revision and in-depth interviews with experts were employed to identify the addiction-related variables at the individual and microsystem level. Second, information was collected from a sample of 275 Spanish smartphone users, and a K-means clustering algorithm was employed to classify smartphone users.FindingsThe proposed traffic lights schema identifies three users' profiles (red, yellow and green) regarding their smartphone addiction and considering individual and microsystem critical variables.Originality/valueThis study proposes a practical and pioneer traffic lights schema to classify smartphone users and facilitate each cluster's strategies development.

Virtually there and back again: An overview of the 2021 and 2022 Scientific Annual Conferences of the International Society of Addiction Medicine.

The International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) has held annual conferences for over 20 years. Conference-related information, including main themes and selected abstracts, have been published regularly. This communication describes the events of the 2021 and 2022 conferences, the second virtual and first in-person/hybrid conference. These conferences were widely attended by addiction medicine professionals from around the world, and multiple topics, both pandemic-related and not, were covered. After a three-year period with two virtual meetings, the 2022 event in Valetta, Malta, provided an opportunity to reunite and discuss current information in person. Albeit with different formats, both meetings provided opportunities for sharing of recent, clinically relevant findings to assist in addressing addictions globally.

Using Machine Learning to Explore the Risk Factors of Problematic Smartphone Use among Canadian Adolescents during COVID-19: The Important Role of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO)

The goal of the present study was to use machine learning to identify how gender, age, ethnicity, screen time, internalizing problems, self-regulation, and FoMO were related to problematic smartphone use in a sample of Canadian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were N = 2527 (1269 boys;Mage = 15.17 years, SD = 1.48 years) high school students from the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Data on problematic smartphone use, screen time, internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stress), self-regulation, and FoMO were collected via an online questionnaire. Several different machine learning algorithms were used to train the statistical model of predictive variables in predicting problematic smartphone use. The results indicated that Shrinkage algorithms (lasso, ridge, and elastic net regression) performed better than other algorithms. Moreover, FoMO, emotional, and cognitive self-regulation made the largest relative contribution to predicting problematic smartphone use. These findings highlight the importance of FoMO and self-regulation in understanding problematic smartphone use.

(Special Issue) Perceived Helicopter Parenting Related to Vocational Senior High School Students' Academic Achievement and Smartphone Addiction

Background and Purpose of Research Adolescents use their smartphones for various purposes, for example, following distance/online learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, staying in touch with friends, having fun using social media tools. According to the social ecological model, risk behaviors, like substance consumption, are regarded as behavior problems. Relatively, etiology is derived of youths' embeddedness surrounded by their social networks, mainly throughout sensitive development periods (Bishop et al., 2020). Given the prevalence of smartphone addiction among young students, previous studies have explored the relationships between smartphone addiction and students' learning and indicated there is negative outcomes of smartphone resulting from overuse of mobile phones, including poor sleep quality. However, there some antecedents of smartphone addiction which has not extendedly studied, for example, parenting style, thus, the present study aimed to explore the correlates between parenting styles, academic achievement and smartphone addiction. Parenting that reflects a combination of support and behavioral control has been linked to numerous indices of academic well-being and live functioning from early childhood through adolescence. In regarding the term helicopter parenting indicated that parents involve hovering behaviors and are potentially over-involved in the lives of their child or in their academic work (Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). But empirical research has not adequately used these two construct from other controlling parenting practices to predict children's smartphone addiction, thus, the present study applied two types of helicopter parenting: live hovering and academic hovering of parenting for of emerging adults, to explain the prediction of children's smartphone addiction. According to Bronfenbrenner (1979) micro ecological system that discusses the association between person-process-content (PPC), who described "person-process-context model” (PPCM) that occurs variability in development procedure as considered in this paper as a functional context (mobile phone usage), person (parenting styles) and process (academic achievement). Not only has cultural ecology be likely to pursue its complications in issues originating from social and cultural topics, but intricate schools of understanding of culture-nature relationship have developed for certain risk behavior. For example, helicopter parenting is more obvious in Chinese families than Western ones, even though the parents want their children to grow up to be independent and think for themselves. Particularly, Chinese parents are more concerned about their children's schoolwork when they are teenagers, which leads to increased helicopter parenting problems, exacerbating issues such as lack of independence, lack of control, and not knowing how to self-manage smartphone use, which can in turn lead to smartphone addiction. If parents are in constant hovering of their children's lives or schoolwork, children develop dependent behaviors. Some studies have indicated that a child's dependent behaviors result in lower motivation to learn and reduced academic achievement. In line with this, drawn on PPCM to understanding the role of academic hovering and live hovering affect participants' smartphone addiction mediated by academic achievement, hypotheses are proposed as follows. Hypotheses (1) Live hovering has a negative effect on academic achievement. (2) Academic hovering has a negative effect on academic achievement. (3) Academic achievement has a negative effect on smartphone addiction. (4) Live hovering has a positive effect on smartphone addiction. (5) Academic hovering has a positive effect on smartphone addiction. Methodology Questionnaire was designed by adapting and translated from previous researched and gave to domain experts to ensure the content validity. Afterward, a purposive sampling was adapted in this study, a total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to 4 vocational senior high schools located in Taipei City. 354 of which were collected, resulting in a questionnaire collection rate of 88.5%. After 64 invalid questionnaires were excluded, 290 valid questionnaires remained, resulting in a valid questionnaire collection rate of 81.92%. Factor analysis was conducted on the valid questionnaires. Results First, helicopter parenting, live and academic hovering had a negative association with academic achievement, with an explanatory power of 20.8%. Second, academic achievement had a negative association with smartphone addiction, with an explanatory power of 38.6%. Third, helicopter parenting had a negative association with smartphone addiction. Fourth, academic hovering had a negative association with smartphone addiction mediated by academic achievement, with an explanatory power of 20.8%. The results of the study thus indicate that young people who are not independent in life or schoolwork tend to rely on their parents, are less able to control their smartphone use, and are more likely to develop smartphone addiction. By contrast, young people who are independent in life and schoolwork and do not need to rely on their parents have control over their smartphone use and are less likely to develop smartphone addiction. Conclusions and Recommendations The results of this study demonstrate that if vocational senior high school students are overly dependent on their parents in life or schoolwork, they may have lower academic achievement and therefore, they are not motivated to achieve strong academic results and will not restrain their desire to spend time on using smartphone, resulting in a tendency toward smartphone addiction. However, when vocational senior high school students do not have to rely on their parents to a great extent in life or schoolwork, they are able to act independently, attain high academic achievement, determine what they want to achieve, and arrange how they will accomplish their goals. Therefore, they have the ability to control the time they spend using their phones and will not develop smartphone addiction. This study suggests that parents should let their children learn to be independent and autonomous, which should help to effectively reduce the problem of smartphone addiction. Finally, conducting this study highlighted possibilities for future research. Some studies suggest that fathers and mothers do not necessarily share the same parenting style, and hence, it is suggested that in a questionnaire survey, the hovering styles of fathers and mothers could be differentiated and then analyzed through a differential analysis. In addition, some smartphone use can be designed with time of use to control using time (e.g., Chinese government limited the hours for children to use smartphone). However, how is the effect of the regulation to students' smartphone addiction should be further studied.Alternate : 隨著行動網路普及，人與人之間的通訊變得更加便利，也造成人們高度依賴手機。然而，手機使用失去控制已對健康造成嚴重危害，如成癮等。孩子的行為控制經常依賴於父母教養方式，尤其是華人父母在教養孩子方面與歐美國家的父母相比，會更加關注地自己的子女。這代表華人父母更關注於孩子的學業和生活，並形成更多按照父母親意志且欠缺獨立思考的媽寶，這將可能激起或停止孩子的手機成癮問題。本研究針對技術型高中學生進行問卷調查，有效問卷共290份，並對數據進行結構方程模式的驗證性因素分析。本研究採用生態系統理論，由AMOS 20建模，並從數據分析的結果進行分析。本研究發現：一、生活媽寶覺知與課業媽寶覺知對學業成就動機呈現負向影響；二、學業成就動機對手機成癮呈現負向影響；三、生活媽寶覺知與課業媽寶覺知對手機成癮呈現正向影響；四、生活媽寶覺知與課業媽寶覺知經由學業成就動機對手機成癮有正向的間接影響。研究結果證明，過分依賴父母的技術型高中學生有較低的學業成就動機，並無法控制手機的使用，因此造成手機成癮。換言之，父母應避免過多的日常生活與學業控制，以減少孩子手機使用的需求性。

Cyberchondria: a Growing Concern During the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Possible Addictive Disorder?

Purpose of Review: The main purpose of this narrative review is to provide a brief overview of the current empirical evidence regarding the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of cyberchondria, with a focus on the potential classification of cyberchondria as a behavioral addiction. Although cyberchondria has been widely associated with anxiety, it has also been suggested that it may be linked to obsessive-compulsive features. A less explored proposal is the categorization of cyberchondria as a behavioral addiction. The present review explores the existing literature with respect to the possible classification of cyberchondria as a behavioral addiction by considering cyberchondria with respect to components of the interaction of person, affect, cognition and execution model. Recent Findings: There is a lack of consensus regarding the definition and conceptualization of cyberchondria. The empirical evidence available to date suggests that cyberchondria is a multifactorial construct that operates transdiagnostically, particularly with respect to obsessive-compulsive-related disorders and health-related anxiety. The extent to which the condition may reflect a behavioral addiction as a form of problematic use of the internet also warrants consideration. Cyberchondria may have become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular populations prone to health-related anxiety likely having greater vulnerability. Existing data in part support the potential classification of cyberchondria as a behavioral addiction, although many gaps in understanding currently exist. Summary: Cyberchondria appears to be a growing concern. However, there is not yet enough empirical evidence to determine whether this clinical condition has enough similarities with behavioral addictions to be considered as one. Likewise, psychometric instruments that exist to date have not been designed from the theoretical framework of behavioral addictions, so most of the factors that they evaluate may be preferentially related to anxiety. Finally, there is still no consensus on whether cyberchondria should be addressed in the context of health anxiety interventions, OCRD, or behavioral addictions; thus, more empirical evidence is needed.

Managers' attitudes toward employees with depression and organizational citizenship behaviors in the hospitality industry: assessing the mediating role of personality

Purpose>This study aims to examine the individual and contextual predictors of managerial attitudes toward employees with chronic depression (EwCD) in the hospitality and tourism field, the relationship between managerial attitudes toward EwCD and levels of organizational citizenship behavior, and the mediating role of personality in this relationship.Design/methodology/approach>Empirical data were collected through an online survey of 305 managers working in the hospitality and tourism industry in the USA. SmartPLS 3 software was used to conduct a partial least squares-structural equation modeling analysis.Findings>Organizational and individual characteristics of managers, such as pressure to be productive in the workplace, previous experience with depression, levels of anxiety and personality characteristics, are strong predictors of attitudes toward employees with depression. Personality mediates the effect of managers' attitudes toward organizational citizenship behavior.Practical implications>The study provided support that managers who have experienced depression are more understanding of the needs of EwCD and, consequently, can reduce related stigma in the workplace. Likewise, open and agreeable managers who do not feel the constant pressure to showcase high performance and who score low on anxiety and high on organizational citizenship behavior can create a safe working environment free from prejudice and discrimination toward EwCD.Originality/value>Examining depression in the hospitality and tourism industry becomes even more critical as mental health issues are increasing in the workplace. This research contributes to the hospitality and tourism literature, which seldom investigates managerial perspectives of mental illness and sheds light on the desirable managerial personality traits necessary for creating an inclusive workplace.

Problematic social media use is statistically predicted by using social media for coping motives and by positive reinforcement processes in individuals with high COVID-19-related stress levels.

It is important to understand the relationship between stress and problematic use of social media (PUSM). However, no study to our knowledge has yet investigated the longitudinal relationship between perceived stress and PUSM via positive and negative reinforcement processes. The present study investigated relationships between COVID-19-pandemic-related stress and PUSM and possible moderating effects of motives for using social media (positive and/or negative reinforcement) during and following a COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown. Six-hundred-and-sixty participants initially completed a survey including self-report measures of PUSM, COVID-19-pandemic-related stress, and motives for using social media (i.e., for negative reinforcement involving coping and conformity or positive reinforcements involving enhancement and social motives). During the COVID-19 outbreak recovery period, 117 participants again completed the survey. Bayesian analyses revealed that PUSM was associated with higher COVID-19-pandemic-related stress levels and use of social media for coping, conformity, and enhancement purposes. Longitudinally, PUSM symptom worsening was associated with increased use of social media for coping motives regardless of levels of perceived stress. Use of social media for conformity and enhancement purposes moderated relationships between stress levels during lockdown and PUSM symptoms worsening after lockdown. Our findings corroborate the hypothesis that negative reinforcement processes may be key factors in PUSM symptom worsening regardless of perceived stress. Concurrently, high levels of stress may worsen PUSM through positive reinforcement processes.

Food addiction, orthorexia nervosa and dietary diversity among Bangladeshi university students: a large online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Maladaptive eating behaviors like food addiction (FA) are common among students, and orthorexia nervosa (ON) is being evaluated as a new condition among eating disorders (EDs). Moreover, dietary diversity (DD) is recognized as an important component of a healthy diet. Thus, the current study sought to examine the prevalence of ON and FA as well as the factors associated with ON, FA, and DD among university students in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Four-thousand-and-seventy-six students were recruited and completed an online survey consisting of the Bratman Orthorexia test, the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale, and a questionnaire based on the Food and Agriculture Organizations' guidelines. Inferential statistics, bivariate and multivariable linear regression were used for analyzing data. RESULTS: ON and FA were observed in 1.7% and 7.5% of participants, respectively, with 43.8% exhibiting Health Fanatic eating attitude. The mean DD score was 5.96 (SD = 1.56). Students with ON consumed more legumes, nuts, seeds, and vegetables including dark green leafy vegetables whereas students with FA consumed more organ meats and eggs. Students who were older-aged, married, formerly smoked, had fitness goals, and had guilty feelings about violating food rules were more likely to have ON, whereas those who were female, were married, actively smoked, and were overweight and obese were more likely to have FA. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that students from Bangladesh are at risk of FA, and less so for ON. These entities and low DD deserve more research attention in Bangladesh to increase awareness and ensure appropriate interventions.

Eating disorders, maladaptive eating behaviors, and low diversified diets are major public health issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic among university students. The current study aimed to address these issues by investigating Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), food addiction (FA), and dietary diversity. Four-thousand-and-seventy-six students completed an online questionnaire. It was found that being underweight was associated with ON. On the other hand, being overweight/obese was associated with having FA. Individuals who were former smokers and who had poor social interaction were significantly associated with having Orthorexia Nervosa. 1st-year university students are more likely to have FA compared to 5th-year/master's students. Active smokers were more likely to be food addicted. Students who had FA had less guilty feelings about violating food rules. Participants who had FA consumed more organ meats and eggs. Students who were from upper socio-economic status were more likely to have higher dietary diversity. Nutritional awareness programs focusing on DD and healthy eating habits should be implemented for students.

Temperament, Character and Cognitive Emotional Regulation in the Latent Profile Classification of Smartphone Addiction in University Students

The frequency of smartphone use has been increasing since COVID-19, and the problem of smartphone addiction is expected to intensify in modern society where smartphones have diverse uses. According to a recent study, cognitive emotional regulation strategies have proven to be effective in deepening or alleviating smartphone addiction. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of smartphone addiction according to various psychosocial approaches, including the cognitive emotional regulation strategy. The purpose of this study is to classify the potential profiles of smartphone addiction and to verify the trends and differences of the classified groups. A total of 333 college students with an age range of 22–25 were targeted. All subjects were asked to take the Smartphone Addition Scale Based on Behavioral Addiction Criteria (SAS-B), Temperature and Character Inventory (TCI), and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). In order to conduct a person-centered approach, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used, and it was analyzed using Mplus 7. As a result, there were significant differences in the classification of potential groups for smart addiction. It was found that there is a high correlation between temperament and character in smartphone addiction and cognitive emotional regulation strategies. This study is expected to be useful as basic data for treatment and preventive approaches according to smartphone addiction in the future.

Violent Video Gaming and Aggression in Children

There is a great concern about the incidence of violent behavior in childhood and adolescence. Exposure to violence in the media is a risk factor for violent behavior in children. The American Psychological Association (APA) (2020) reported children who repeatedly play violent video games tend to demonstrate increased aggressiveness and decreased concern for others, and video gaming impacted academic performance. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness among parents, nurses, and other providers about the impact of playing violent video games excessively through theories explaining the possible impact of violent games on children's behavior, proposed measures to evaluate children's exposure to video games, and strategies to control or reduce this problem.

Binge-Watching and Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Binge-watching, the viewing of online videos or streamed content, may be associated with different types of mental health problems. The present study aimed to investigate the associations between binge-watching and five mental health concerns including depression, loneliness, sleep problems, anxiety, and stress. METHODS: Academic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, PsycINFO, and Psych Articles were systematically searched through February of 2022. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the methodological quality. A meta-analysis was performed on Fisher's z values as effect sizes, using a random effect model. Publication bias, small study effect, and moderators in this association were assessed. RESULTS: Binge-watching was significantly associated with the five types of mental health concerns with the most robust correlations found with stress (0.32) and anxiety (0.25). Stronger associations between binge-watching and two types of mental health problems (depression and sleep problems) were found during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic. Moreover, stronger associations between binge-watching and two types of mental health problems (stress and sleep problems) were found in developing countries than in developed countries. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between binge-watching and mental health concerns were significant and positive. Programs and interventions to reduce binge-watching should be considered and tested.

The moderating effects of intolerance of uncertainty and social connectedness on college students' addictive behaviors and mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: This study aimed to understand COVID-19 pandemic impacts on anxiety, depression, and addictive/excessive behaviors, with exploration of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and social connectedness as potential moderators. Participants: Adult college students participated. Method: Our online survey assessed symptoms and behaviors prior to COVID-19, during the initial outbreak (Wave 1), and during early 2021 (Wave 2). Results: Significant increases were found in anxiety, depression, binge eating, sexual behaviors, video game playing, internet/social media usage, and compulsive exercise in both waves. IU moderated the relationship between both depression/anxiety and certain excessive behaviors; social connectedness moderated the relationship between anxiety and smoking. Conclusions: This study replicated prior work and highlights new impacts on addictive/excessive behaviors, as well as moderating effects from social connectedness and IU. Future research is warranted to evaluate the efficacy of treatments targeting IU and social connectedness as the pandemic continues to unfold.

Trust in vaccines . . . and other stories

Vitamin D in older adults with covid-19 On the subject of covid-19, a randomised controlled trial from seven centres in France compared outcomes among older adults given high (400 000 IU) or standard (50 000 IU) doses of oral cholecalciferol within 72 hours of a diagnosis. Ultraviolet radiation and risk of cancer Although exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major risk factor for melanoma, sunlight increases vitamin D levels, which might protect against other types of cancer. Stratified by cumulative average exposure to UV radiation, increasing levels of exposure carried a greater risk not only of melanoma but also of non-cutaneous cancers (Am J Epidemiol doi:10.1093/aje/kwac101).

Exploring Internet gaming disorder: an updated perspective of empirical evidence (from 2016 to 2021)

Background and aimsSince the acceptance of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a “disorder due to addictive behaviors”, research has proliferated exponentially. The present review focuses on the conceptualization of IGD, its diagnosis and assessment, associated factors and existing prevention and treatment plans to address it.Results and conclusionsThe discrepancies between the diagnostic criteria for IGD proposed by the two central diagnostic entities, as well as the questioning of their clinical validity, have generated multiple proposals for the diagnosis and psychometric evaluation of IGD. Likewise, there have been numerous suggestions to prevent this pathology, with the involvement of governments, the gaming industry and health institutions. Finally, multiple treatment plans have been proposed, both pharmacological and psychological, although only the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy has been tested. It is essential, therefore, to delve deeper into this disorder by addressing the central limitations of the current literature.

Berry By-Products in Combination with Antimicrobial Lactic Acid Bacteria Strains for the Sustainable Formulation of Chewing Candies

The purpose of this research was to develop formulations of chewing candies (CCs) in a sustainable manner by using berry by-products in combination with antimicrobial lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains. To implement this aim, the optimal quantities of by-products from lyophilised raspberry (Rasp) and blackcurrant (Bcur) from the juice production industry were selected. Prior to use, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LUHS135, Liquorilactobacillus uvarum LUHS245, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei LUHS244, and Pediococcus acidilactici LUHS29 strains were multiplied in a dairy industry by-product—milk permeate (MP). The antimicrobial activity of the selected ingredients (berry by-products and LAB) was evaluated. Two texture-forming agents were tested for the CC formulations: gelatin (Gl) and agar (Ag). In addition, sugar was replaced with xylitol. The most appropriate formulation of the developed CCs according to the product’s texture, colour, total phenolic compound (TPC) content, antioxidant activity, viable LAB count during storage, overall acceptability (OA), and emotions (EMs) induced in consumers was selected. It was established that the tested LAB inhibited three pathogens out of the 11 tested, while the blackcurrant by-products inhibited all 11 tested pathogens. The highest OA was shown for the CC prepared with gelatin in addition to 5 g of Rasp and 5 g of Bcur by-products. The Rasp and LUHS135 formulation showed the highest TPC content (147.16 mg 100 g−1 d.m.), antioxidant activity (88.2%), and LAB count after 24 days of storage (6.79 log10 CFU g−1). Finally, it was concluded that Gl, Rasp and Bcur by-products, and L. plantarum LUHS135 multiplied in MP are promising ingredients for preparing CCs in a sustainable manner;the best CC formula consisted of Gl, Rasp by-products, and LUHS135 and showed the highest OA (score 9.52) and induced the highest intensity of the EM ‘happy’ (0.231).

Studyholism and Study Engagement in Adolescence: The Role of Social Anxiety and Interpretation Bias as Antecedents

Studyholism (or obsession toward study) is a new potential clinical condition that, in contrast with Study Engagement, is associated with negative outcomes. However, previous studies showed that both Studyholism and Study Engagement predict social impairment due to study. Therefore, we analyzed the role of social anxiety and interpretation bias as predictors of Studyholism and Study Engagement in 541 adolescents (Mage = 16.30 ± 1.59;66% girls). We performed a path analysis model, MANOVAs, and Mann–Whitney tests. Among the main findings, social anxiety is a positive predictor of both Studyholism and Study Engagement. Hence, this provides further support to the conceptualization of Studyholism as an OCD-related disorder (or as an internalizing disorder) and suggests the need of screening socially anxious adolescents for the presence of Studyholism and engaged students for the presence of high social anxiety. Moreover, Studyholism is predicted by a negative interpretation style in non-social situations, while a positive interpretation style predicts Study Engagement in social and non-social situations. Hence, Studyholism and social anxiety are two different diagnoses, even if social anxiety might fuel Studyholism. Moreover, interventions to reduce Studyholism should decrease the tendency to interpret non-social situations negatively or neutrally.

The Increase in Addiction during COVID-19

DefinitionThe increase in addiction during COVID-19 is a condition that emerged as an aftermath of COVID-19-related events, for instance, fear of the spread of COVID-19, self-abstention from many activities, and restrictions established by the lockdown measures. This condition includes substance addictions such as drugs and alcohol but also behavioral addictions such as gambling, gaming, pornography, and smartphone and internet misuse.

No Significant Changes in Addictive and Problematic Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Lockdowns: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak and related lockdowns brought substantial changes in people's lives and led to concerns about possible increases of addictive behaviors at the initial stages of the pandemic. To examine these concerns, the aim of the present study was to assess longitudinal changes in addictive and problematic behaviors (i.e., problematic social media use, Internet gaming disorder, gambling disorder, problematic pornography use, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder) over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Three waves of data collection took place in different stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hungary in a general population, from the first wave of lockdowns to the second and third waves of restrictions (May, 2020; N T1 = 1747; June-August, 2020; N T2 = 656; January, 2021; N T3 = 411). Latent growth curve models were calculated to assess the potential changes in addictive and problematic behaviors over time. Results: Latent growth curve models showed that the sample varied in their initial scores, but there were no significant changes over time in any of the examined behaviors, except for compulsive sexual behavior disorder, which demonstrated a small but significant increase (i.e., positive and significant slope factor). However, the rate of this change was negligible. Overall, there were no noteworthy changes over time regarding any of the examined addictive and problematic behaviors. Conclusion: Contrary to initial concerns, no substantial changes over time were observed regarding the examined addictive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. These findings indicate that those who had no previous problem with these addictive behaviors, might have not developed a problem, and those who had problem with either of the behaviors previously, might have not experienced a significant increase in their symptoms.