Compensatory Usage of the Internet: The Case of Mukbang Watching on YouTube.

OBJECTIVE: Accumulating empirical research has emphasized that a wide range of online activities-such as using social networking sites-can be performed in order to compensate unattained needs or to cope with negative affect and psychopathological symptoms. Although the correlates of problematic social networking use have been extensively investigated, less is known about problematic YouTube use (PYU), an umbrella term grouping a number of different activities (e.g., viewing of online video games, watching specific YouTube channels). Furthermore, nothing is known concerning increasingly popular and distinct YouTube-related activities such as mukbang watching (i.e., watching livestream "eating broadcasts" where someone eats various foods in front of the camera while interacting with viewers). The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of problematic mukbang watching (PMW) on the relationships between depression and loneliness with PYU. METHODS: An online survey that comprised assessment tools for aforementioned variables was administered to 217 mukbang viewers (mean age=20.58 years, range 18-33 years). RESULTS: Results indicated that PMW was positively related to loneliness and PYU. Depression was positively and directly associated with PYU but was not associated with PMW. CONCLUSION: Further research is required to better understand the psychological processes underlying problematic mukbang watching and its association with other mental health conditions (e.g., addictive disorders, eating disorders).

Study addiction and 'dark' personality traits: a cross-sectional survey study among emerging adults.

Background: Research has shown that personality traits can have an important role in the development and maintenance of behavioral addictions. However, the relationship between dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, spitefulness) and 'study addiction' has yet to be investigated.Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations of dark traits with study addiction among the total sample, males, and females separately, while adjusting for the Big Five personality traits (i.e., extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness).Methods: A total of 716 university students completed an online survey, including questions assessing the aforementioned variables.Results: Hierarchical regression analysis suggested that being female, neuroticism, conscientiousness, Machiavellianism, and sadism were positively associated with study addiction. However, dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, sadism) were significantly related to study addiction only in males but not in females.Conclusions: Findings of this preliminary study suggest that dark personality traits may be better at explaining male addictive studying patterns and that gender should be taken into account when investigating the role of personality in the development of study addiction.

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cyberbullying Perpetration: The Role of Dark Personality Traits.

Dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, spitefulness, and sadism) are associated with adverse childhood experiences and deviant online behaviors. However, their mediating role between childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying has never previously been investigated. We examined direct and indirect associations of childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying via dark personality traits among 772 participants. Men were better characterized by dark personality traits and were more likely to engage in cyberbullying than women, and there were no sex differences in childhood emotional abuse. Collectively, dark traits fully mediated the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying in men, with partial mediation in the total sample and women. More specifically, Machiavellianism and spitefulness were mediators in both samples, sadism was a mediator in men and the total sample, and psychopathy was a mediator in the total sample and women. The dark personality traits can account for the association between childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying, especially among men.

Problematic internet use among young and adult population in Bangladesh: Correlates with lifestyle and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Although internet use can boost individuals' quality of life in various aspects, activities on the internet (e.g., gambling, video gaming, social media use, pornography use, etc.) can be used as coping strategy to deal with psychological stressors and mood states (e.g., fear, anxiety, depression) particularly during the global COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVES: The present study assessed problematic internet use (PIU) among Bangladeshi youth and adults in Bangladesh and examined its correlation with lifestyle and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was utilized between May and June 2020 comprising 13,525 Bangladeshi individuals (61.3% male; age range 18-50 years; mean age 23.7 years) recruited from various online platforms. The self-report survey included questions concerning socio-demographics, lifestyle, and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as psychometric scales such as the nine-item Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF). RESULTS: Utilizing hierarchical regression analysis, problematic internet use was significantly and positively associated with those who were younger, having a higher level of education, living with a nuclear family, engaging in less physical exercise, avoiding household chores, playing online videogames, social media use, and engaging in recreational online activities. CONCLUSIONS: Excessive internet use appears to have been commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic period and young adults were most vulnerable to problematic internet use.

Depression literacy and awareness programs among Bangladeshi students: An online survey.

BACKGROUND: Preventing depression and helping individuals to become more resilient to depression, awareness-related programs have been suggested. To implement such programs, depression literacy (D-Lit) assessment is needed. However, little information is known about it in Bangladesh, and this gap was addressed - in the present study. METHODS: An online-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 404 university students (62.6% male; 69.3% undergraduates, mean age = 22.35 ± 2.69 years). The survey included questions asking about socio-demographics, personal and family depression history, its' stigma and related programs, and the 20-item Bangla Depression Literacy questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed a mean score of 9.30 (SD = 2.75; out of total 20 scores) on the Bangla D-Lit scale. Participants had very limited knowledge of the psychotic symptoms, impact, and management subscales. Moreover, nine items out of the total twenty-items were answered correctly by at least 50% of the participants. There were no significant D-Lit score differences based on gender and past-year personal history, and family depression history. Structural equation modeling indicated that having knowledge about depression and attending depression seminars were positively related to elevated depression literacy. LIMITATIONS: The study has some limitations due to its cross-sectional study nature and modest sample size. In addition, there the assessment of depression did not use a validated psychometric instrument and the D-Lit comprises multiple-choice responses so the real rate of depression literacy may be even lower than that found because participants could have guessed answers that they did not know. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest that depression literacy was low in the population studied and the findings here will help to facilitate mental health literacy awareness programs in the context of Bangladeshi students as well as those outside the country.

Measurement, prevalence, and psychological risk factors associated with addictive food consumption: Development of a new food addiction scale and evidence from a national largescale sample.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To date, a number of studies have investigated the prevalence and correlates of addictive food consumption. However, these studies have mostly relied on models that comprised a narrow range of variables in often small and heterogenous samples. The purpose of the present study was to comprehensively examine the measurement aspects, the prevalence, and the psychological correlates of addictive eating among a largescale national sample of Turkish adults. METHOD: Participants (N = 24,380, 50% men, Mage = 31.79 years, age range = 18-81 years) completed a battery of tests including the Food Addiction Risk Questionnaire (FARQ), the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. RESULTS: According to analyses conducted, the FARQ had a uni-dimensional factor structure. Based on Item Response Theory (IRT) calculated cut-off scores, 2.3% of the participants were at risk of addictive eating patterns, whilst criteria varied in their discriminating ability. The correlates of addictive food consumption were being male, being younger, having lower education, presenting with higher alcohol use, psychiatric symptoms, alexithymia, positive/negative affect, and anxious attachment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a minority of Turkish community are at risk for addictive food consumption and that adverse psychological states promote this problematic behavior.

Financial threat, hardship and distress predict depression, anxiety and stress among the unemployed youths: A Bangladeshi multi-city study.

INTRODUCTION: Unemployment has a contributory role in the development of mental health problems and in Bangladesh there is increasing unemployment, particularly among youth. Consequently, the present study investigated depression, anxiety, and stress among recent graduates in a multi-city study across the country. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 988 Bangladeshi graduate jobseekers in six major cities of the country between August to November 2019. The measures included socio-demographics and life-style factors, study and job-related information, Economic Hardship Questionnaire, Financial Threat Scale, Financial Well-Being Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. RESULTS: Depression, anxiety and stress rates among the present sample were 81.1% (n = 801), 61.5% (n = 608) and 64.8% (n = 640) respectively. Factors related to gender, age, socioeconomic conditions, educational background, lack of extra-curricular activities, and high screen activity were significant risk factors of depression, anxiety, and stress. Structural equation modeling indicated that (while controlling for age, daily time spent on sleep study, and social media use), financial threat was moderately positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress. Financial hardship was weakly positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress, whereas financial wellbeing was weakly negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. LIMITATIONS: Due to the nature of the present study (i.e., cross-sectional study) and sampling method (i.e., convenience sampling), determining causality between the variables is not possible. CONCLUSIONS: The present results emphasized the important detrimental role of financial troubles on young people's mental health by showing that financial problems among unemployed youth predict elevated psychiatric distress in both men and women.

Adolescent problematic internet use and parental mediation: A Bangladeshi structured interview study.

Internet-related problems such as excessive internet use, problematic internet use (PIU), and internet addiction, are becoming increasingly studied among Bangladeshi adult students, but there has been little research among adolescents. In Bangladesh, there has been no research examining the role of parental mediation in their children's internet use. Therefore, the present structured interview study investigated Bangladeshi adolescent PIU and its associated socio-demographics, internet use behaviors, and the parental mediation role among 350 high school students residing in Dhaka. The results showed that 84 of adolescents (24.0%) were classified as having PIU (cut-off score of ≥ 50 on the Internet Addiction Test) and nine adolescents (2.6%) were classified as having a severe dependency on the internet (cut-off score of >80 on the Internet Addiction Test). According to hierarchical regression analysis, significant PIU correlates included lower academic results, both parents' lower education, mother working outside the home, more than four days' weekly internet use, more than two hours daily internet use, and active mediation. Additionally, internet use behaviors (i.e., internet use locations, devices, purposes, and applications) and parental internet mediation dimensions other than active mediation (i.e., restrictive mediation, active mediation internet safety, monitoring, and technical mediation) were significantly related to PIU in t-tests and correlation analysis respectively. However, they were non-significant in the hierarchical regression analysis when included into equation altogether. The present study's findings will be helpful in developing country-level policymaking decisions and facilitating future research in the country.

A brief psychological overview of disordered gaming.

In the latest (eleventh) revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Gaming Disorder (GD) as an official diagnostic entity. Furthermore, in the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association (APA) proposed Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) as a tentative disorder in need of further study. The present review provides a brief analysis on the current state of the art of the field. Even though there has been an ongoing debate concerning the proposed diagnostic criteria, there are now a number of assessment tools that have been developed using the diagnostic frameworks devised by the WHO and APA which have provided greater accuracy and consistency in IGD research. The prevalence rates of IGD reported in representative samples have ranged from approximately 1% to 5%. However, the discrepancy in the prevalence rates is mainly due to the reliance on non-representative samples, inconsistent assessment, and conceptual heterogeneity. In terms of treatment approaches, the literature suggests that pharmacological treatment and cognitive behavioral therapy-based treatments have been successfully employed to reduce the symptoms of IGD. Despite the latest clinical advances in IGD research, there are still major drawbacks in treatment and existing intervention studies due to key limitations relating to sample sizes in treatment studies, small effect sizes, and scarcity of research on intervention studies. Taken together, these issues highlight the need for further studies into disordered gaming.

The role of childhood emotional maltreatment and body image dissatisfaction in problematic smartphone use among adolescents.

Growing empirical evidence has identified specific psychological and contextual risk factors associated with problematic smartphone use (PSU). However, the potential direct and indirect impact of childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) on PSU remains largely unexplored, despite the established role of CEM in the onset of other excessive, problematic, and addictive behaviors. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to test the direct and indirect relationships of emotional abuse and neglect (two facets of CEM) with PSU via specific mediational pathways including body image dissatisfaction (BID), social anxiety, and depression. The sample comprised 443 adolescents who completed a questionnaire that included assessment tools of aforementioned variables. Multiple mediation model results indicated that CEM was directly and indirectly associated with PSU via BID, depression, BID-related depression, and BID-related social anxiety. Results suggested that emotionally traumatic experiences were associated with PSU in adolescents and that this relationship may partially be explained by BID and psychosocial risk factors. The present study draws caution to the amplifying roles of CEM and BID on increased PSU. The results of the study have important clinical and public health implications, but additional research is needed before interventions can be developed and implemented on the basis of present results.

Psychosocial factors mediating the relationship between childhood emotional trauma and internet gaming disorder: a pilot study.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been related to a wide range of detrimental psychological and health consequences. The purpose of the present pilot study was to test the direct and indirect relationships between IGD and emotional trauma, body image dissatisfaction, social anxiety, loneliness, depression, and self-esteem. A total of 242 online gamers completed a survey comprising a comprehensive battery of psychometric self-report scales concerning aforementioned variables. Results indicated that IGD was significantly correlated with all the variables except for body image dissatisfaction. Path analysis indicated an indirect relationship between childhood emotional trauma and IGD through depressive symptoms, while adjusting for gender, age, and number of hours gaming. The findings of the present study indicate that online gamers with a history of emotional abuse and/or neglect have higher levels of depressive symptoms, and that depressive symptoms are important risk factors of IGD.

El trastorno del juego en internet (IGD por sus siglas en inglés) se ha relacionado con una amplia gama de consecuencias psicológicas y de salud perjudiciales. El propósito del presente estudio piloto fue probar las relaciones directas e indirectas entre el IGD y el trauma emocional, la insatisfacción de la imagen corporal, la ansiedad social, soledad, depresión y autoestima. Un total de 242 jugadores en línea completaron una encuesta que comprende una batería completa de escalas de auto-reporte, incluyendo la Prueba del Trastorno del Juego en internet de 10 ítems (IGDT-10), el Cuestionario de trauma infantil (CTQ), la Escala de Insatisfacción de la Imagen Corporal (BIDS), la Escala breve de Depresión y Felicidad (SDHS), la Escala de Autoestima de un ítem (SISE), la Escala de Soledad de la UCLA (ULS-4), y la Escala de Ansiedad Social para Adolescentes abreviada (SAS-A). Los resultados indicaron que el IGD estuvo correlacionado significativamente con todas las variables exceptuando la insatisfacción de la imagen corporal. El análisis de trayectoria indicó una relación indirecta entre trauma infantil emocional e IGD a través de los síntomas depresivos, ajustando género, edad y número de horas de juego. Los hallazgos del presente estudio indican que los jugadores en línea con historial de abuso emocional y/o negligencia tienen mayores niveles de síntomas depresivos, y que los síntomas depresivos son importantes factores de riesgo para el IGD.

The dark side of internet: Preliminary evidence for the associations of dark personality traits with specific online activities and problematic internet use.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research has shown that personality traits play an important role in problematic internet use (PIU). However, the relationship between dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, and spitefulness) and PIU has yet to be investigated. Consequently, the objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships of dark traits with specific online activities (i.e., social media, gaming, gambling, shopping, and sex) and PIU. METHODS: A total of 772 university students completed a self-report survey, including the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Scale, Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, Spitefulness Scale, and an adapted version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analysis and a multiple mediation model indicated that being male was positively associated with higher online gaming, online sex, and online gambling, and negatively associated with social media and online shopping. Narcissism was related to higher social media use; Machiavellianism was related to higher online gaming, online sex, and online gambling; sadism was related to online sex; and spitefulness was associated with online sex, online gambling, and online shopping. Finally, Machiavellianism and spitefulness were directly and indirectly associated with PIU via online gambling, online gaming, and online shopping, and narcissism was indirectly associated with PIU through social media use. DISCUSSION: Findings of this preliminary study show that individuals high in dark personality traits may be more vulnerable in developing problematic online use and that further research is warranted to examine the associations of dark personality traits with specific types of problematic online activities.

Instagram addiction and the Big Five of personality: The mediating role of self-liking.

Background and aims Recent research has suggested that social networking site use can be addictive. Although extensive research has been carried out on potential addiction to social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Tinder, only one very small study has previously examined potential addiction to Instagram. Consequently, the objectives of this study were to examine the relationships between personality, self-liking, daily Internet use, and Instagram addiction, as well as exploring the mediating role of self-liking between personality and Instagram addiction using path analysis. Methods A total of 752 university students completed a self-report survey, including the Instagram Addiction Scale (IAS), the Big Five Inventory (BFI), and the Self-Liking Scale. Results Results indicated that agreeableness, conscientiousness, and self-liking were negatively associated with Instagram addiction, whereas daily Internet use was positively associated with Instagram addiction. The results also showed that self-liking partially mediated the relationship of Instagram addiction with agreeableness and fully mediated the relationship between Instagram addiction with conscientiousness. Discussion and conclusions This study contributes to the small body of literature that has examined the relationship between personality and social networking site addiction and is one of only two studies to examine the addictive use of Instagram and the underlying factors related to it.