Parental rejection and control: Potential risks for excessive Internet usage among adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Internet addiction is an emergent health hazard among adolescents, especially after COVID19. Parenting factors in a family environment specifically, have potential roles in either causing excessive internet usage, or in protecting teenagers from internet addiction. AIM: The aim of the study was to understand factors in parent-adolescent relationship that determine low and excessive internet usage. METHODS: A total of 102 adolescents within the age group of 13 to 18 years from two different schools in urban Bengaluru, India were recruited. Data was collected using three instruments namely semi structured tool to assess socio-demographic characteristics, Young's internet addiction test for internet usage and parental bonding instrument for adolescent perception about parenting dimensions. RESULTS: Half of the participants were found to have mild to severe levels of internet addiction, and the remaining half had normal levels of internet usage. The results showed that decreased care and increased control from the mother, high autonomy from father and increased rejection from both parents as risk factors associated with adolescent internet excessive use. No other significant associations were found between adolescents' demographic, academic, peer and school profile and their internet addiction. CONCLUSION: As internet has become an inevitable part of our life, parent-adolescent relationship forms an essential moderating factor in adolescents' internet usage.

Mobile phone use and its threat to dependence among secondary school students - an explanatory study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Nomophobia (NMP) is a present-age phobia of loss of use of information and communication technologies (ICT), particularly smartphones. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study adopted a two-phase, exploratory consequential mixed methods design. The first phase was a quantitative exploration of the degree of NMP. The second mapped the potential area of risks in using modern ICT. Three working hypotheses were established to compare the opinions of secondary school students, their behaviour and degree of NMP. A 20-item anonymous questionnaire was administered to 373 boys and girls aged 14-15 in 11 randomly-selected secondary schools in the Czech Republic. RESULTS: The results prove that 0.5% of the subjects did not exhibit symptoms of NMP, a very mild form of NMP was detected in 71% of respondents, a mild form of NMP was detected in 18.7% of the respondents, a moderate form of NMP was detected in 7.8% of respondents, and a severe form of NMP was detected in 2% of respondents. Almost three-quarters of the students were not directly at risk of dependence on a mobile phone, but a 10th of the sample exhibited a set of symptoms of behavioural addiction. On average, respondents used 4 applications, communication programmes, social networks, and music players. Girls reported a higher dependence on mobile phones in comparison to boys. CONCLUSIONS: Further investigations should directly ascertain which integrands predict NMP, identifying risk groups, and developing preventive strategies (social and environmental factors) to better understand the underlying cause of NMP.

Internet-based interventions for behavioral addictions: A systematic review.

Background and aims: Behavioral addictions are a public health problem that causes harm to both individuals and society. Internet-based interventions offer potential benefits over face-to-face therapy for the treatment of behavioral addictions, including their accessibility, perceived anonymity, and low costs. We systematically reviewed the characteristics and effectiveness of these interventions. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in: PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. A standardized methodological quality assessment was performed on all identified studies via the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. Results: Twenty-nine studies were assessed in this systematic review. Between them, considerable heterogeneity was noted in various study characteristics, including screening tools, inclusion criteria, and outcome measures. Attrition rates also ranged widely (9-89%), as did study quality, with three of the 29 studies rated strong, 12 moderate, and 14 weak methodologically. Twenty-two studies focused on gambling disorder, most revealing significant within-group effects for the assessed intervention on gambling-related symptoms and four of these studies identified significant between-group effects. Behavioral addictions studied in the remaining studies included gaming disorder, internet use disorder, hoarding disorder, and pornography use disorder, revealing generally-promising, albeit limited results. Conclusions: Internet-based interventions seem promising at reducing gambling problems, but too few studies have been published, to date, for conclusions to be drawn for other behavioral addictions. Internet-based interventions targeting other behavioral addictions - like gaming disorder, internet use disorder, hoarding disorder, and pornography use disorder - remain under-examined, warranting considerable additional research to assess their effectiveness.

What's in the box? Exploring UK players' experiences of loot boxes in games; the conceptualisation and parallels with gambling.

Loot boxes are a popular mechanic within many video games, but it remains unclear if some forms of loot boxes can be seen of as gambling. However, the perspectives of players are often neglected, such as whether they see them as 'fair' game elements and how closely they feel this aligns with gambling. In this paper, we synthesise a conceptualisation for loot boxes through players' actual experience and explore if there are any parallels with gambling. Twenty-one participants who played video games took part in the research through either an interview or online survey. Thematic analysis suggested that six themes were core to exploring loot boxes: Random Chance Effects, Attitudes Towards Content, Implementation, Parallels with Gambling, Game Design, and The Player. The results suggested both indirect and direct parallels with gambling from the players experiences. Implications of game design and classifying loot boxes as gambling are discussed in relation to game design and risk factors of gambling and purchasing behaviour.

Disparities in Addiction Treatment: Learning from the Past to Forge an Equitable Future.

The Half-Century long problem of addiction treatment disparities. We cannot imagine addressing disparities in addiction treatment without first acknowledging and deconstructing the etiology of this inequity. This article examines the history of addiction treatment disparities beginning with early twentieth-century drug policies. We begin by discussing structural racism, its contribution to treatment disparities, using opioid use disorder as a case study to highlight the importance of a structural competency framework in obtaining care. We conclude by discussing diversity in the workforce as an additional tool to minimizing disparities. Addiction treatment should be aimed at addressing care delivery in the context of the social, economic, and political determinants of health, which require appreciation of their historical origins to move toward equitable treatment.

Neurobiological mechanisms of early life adversity, blunted stress reactivity and risk for addiction.

Blunted stress reactivity resulting from early exposure to stress during childhood and adolescence may increase vulnerability to addiction. Early life adversity (ELA) affects brain structure and function and results in blunted stress axis reactivity. In this review, we focus on the underlying neurobiological mechanisms associated with a blunted response to stress, ELA, and risk for addictive disorders. ELA and blunted reactivity are accompanied by unstable mood regulation, impulsive behaviors, and reduced cognitive function. Neuroimaging studies reveal cortical and subcortical changes in persons exposed to ELA and those who have a genetic disposition for addiction. We propose a model in which blunted stress reactivity may be a marker of risk for addiction through an altered motivational and behavioral reactivity to stress that contribute to disinhibited behavioral reactivity and impulsivity leading in turn to increased vulnerability for substance use. Evidence supporting this hypothesis in the context of substance use initiation, maintenance, and risk for relapse is presented. The effects of ELA on persons at risk for addiction may lead to early experimentation with drugs of abuse. Early adoption of drug intake may alter neuroregulation in such vulnerable persons leading to a permanent dysregulation of motivational responses consistent with dependence. This article is part of the special issue on 'Vulnerabilities to Substance Abuse'.

Ultraprocessed Food: Addictive, Toxic, and Ready for Regulation.

Past public health crises (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, opioids, cholera, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), lead, pollution, venereal disease, even coronavirus (COVID-19) have been met with interventions targeted both at the individual and all of society. While the healthcare community is very aware that the global pandemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has its origins in our Western ultraprocessed food diet, society has been slow to initiate any interventions other than public education, which has been ineffective, in part due to food industry interference. This article provides the rationale for such public health interventions, by compiling the evidence that added sugar, and by proxy the ultraprocessed food category, meets the four criteria set by the public health community as necessary and sufficient for regulation-abuse, toxicity, ubiquity, and externalities (How does your consumption affect me?). To their credit, some countries have recently heeded this science and have instituted sugar taxation policies to help ameliorate NCDs within their borders. This article also supplies scientific counters to food industry talking points, and sample intervention strategies, in order to guide both scientists and policy makers in instituting further appropriate public health measures to quell this pandemic.

Identification of Optimal Measures of Human Abuse Potential: A Post Hoc Assessment of 19 Studies.

BACKGROUND: Human abuse potential studies include multiple measures to assess the subjective effects of central nervous system-active drugs. In this retrospective analysis, measurement properties of commonly used measures were assessed, and factor analysis was conducted to identify a core battery of measures. METHODS: Measures of positive, negative and other effects, for example, bipolar "at-the-moment" Drug Liking visual analog scale (VAS), were derived for active controls and placebo from 19 studies in recreational drug users (N = 570). Distribution, placebo response, variability, convergent/discriminant validity, parameter effect sizes (eg, maximum effect [Emax], time-averaged area under the effect curve), and predictive validity were evaluated. A factor analysis was conducted with 9 studies. RESULTS: Most parameters were not normally distributed. Bipolar VAS exhibited the lowest variability. Drug Liking VAS Emax was very sensitive, showed large effect sizes (>1.0), and was moderately to strongly correlated with Emax of other positive effects measures (r > 0.5), but weaker with less specific scales (eg, high, Any Effects VAS); time-averaged area under the effect curve showed higher variability and lower effect sizes. Maximum effect at any dose (EmaxD) was significantly correlated with Emax across all selected measures and showed higher effect sizes. In the overall factor analysis, factors could be categorized into positive effects/euphoria (77% of variance), negative effects (17.9%), and pharmacologic effects (5%). For predictive validity, effect sizes for Drug Liking VAS Emax/EmaxD were moderately correlated with postmarket adverse events related to abuse (R = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: A core battery of 7 subjective measures was proposed, with additional measures added based on pharmacologic effects.

Review of addiction risk potential associated with adolescent opioid use.

Adolescence is a critical period of development with robust behavioral, morphological, hormonal, and neurochemical changes including changes in brain regions implicated in the reinforcing effects of drugs such as opioids. Here we examine the preclinical and, where appropriate complementary clinical literature, for the behavioral and neurological changes induced by adolescent opioid exposure/use and their long-term consequences during adulthood. Adolescent opioid exposure results in a widened biphasic shift in reinforcement with increased impact of positive rewarding aspects during initial use and profound negative reinforcement during adulthood. Females may have enhanced vulnerability due to fast onset of antinociceptive tolerance and reduced severity of somatic withdrawal symptoms during adolescence. Overall, adolescent opioid exposure, be it legally prescribed protracted intake or illicit consumption, results in significant and prolonged consequences of increased opioid reward concomitant with reduced analgesic efficacy and exacerbated somatic withdrawal severity during opioid use/exposure in adulthood. These findings are highly relevant to physicians, parents, law makers, and the general public as adolescent opioid exposure/misuse results in heightened risk for substance use disorders.

[Health professionals facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: What are the mental health risks?] / Les professionnels de santé face à la pandémie de la maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) : quels risques pour leur santé mentale ?

OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused major sanitary crisis worldwide. Half of the world has been placed in quarantine. In France, this large-scale health crisis urgently triggered the restructuring and reorganization of health service delivery to support emergency services, medical intensive care units and continuing care units. Health professionals mobilized all their resources to provide emergency aid in a general climate of uncertainty. Concerns about the mental health, psychological adjustment, and recovery of health care workers treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are now arising. The goal of the present article is to provide up-to-date information on potential mental health risks associated with exposure of health professionals to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Authors performed a narrative review identifying relevant results in the scientific and medical literature considering previous epidemics of 2003 (SARS-CoV-1) and 2009 (H1N1) with the more recent data about the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlighted most relevant data concerning the disease characteristics, the organizational factors and personal factors that may contribute to developing psychological distress and other mental health symptoms. RESULTS: The disease characteristics of the current COVID-19 pandemic provoked a generalized climate of wariness and uncertainty, particularly among health professionals, due to a range of causes such as the rapid spread of COVID-19, the severity of symptoms it can cause in a segment of infected individuals, the lack of knowledge of the disease, and deaths among health professionals. Stress may also be caused by organizational factors, such as depletion of personal protection equipment, concerns about not being able to provide competent care if deployed to new area, concerns about rapidly changing information, lack of access to up-to-date information and communication, lack of specific drugs, the shortage of ventilators and intensive care unit beds necessary to care for the surge of critically ill patients, and significant change in their daily social and family life. Further risk factors have been identified, including feelings of being inadequately supported, concerns about health of self, fear of taking home infection to family members or others, and not having rapid access to testing through occupational health if needed, being isolated, feelings of uncertainty and social stigmatization, overwhelming workload, or insecure attachment. Additionally, we discussed positive social and organizational factors that contribute to enhance resilience in the face of the pandemic. There is a consensus in all the relevant literature that health care professionals are at an increased risk of high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, which could have long-term psychological implications. CONCLUSIONS: In the long run, this tragic health crisis should significantly enhance our understanding of the mental health risk factors among the health care professionals facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporting information such as this is essential to plan future prevention strategies. Protecting health care professionals is indeed an important component of public health measures to address large-scale health crisis. Thus, interventions to promote mental well-being in health care professionals exposed to COVID-19 need to be immediately implemented, and to strengthen prevention and response strategies by training health care professionals on mental help and crisis management.

[Psychopathological consequences of confinement]. / Conséquences psychopathologiques du confinement.

The psychological effects of isolation have already been described in the literature (polar expeditions, submarines, prison). Nevertheless, the scale of confinement implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. In addition to reviewing the published studies, we need to anticipate the psychological problems that could arise during or at a distance from confinement. We have gone beyond the COVID-19 literature in order to examine the implications of the known consequences of confinement, like boredom, social isolation, stress, or sleep deprivation. Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidal or addictive behaviours, domestic violence are described effects of confinement, but the mechanisms of emergence of these disorders and their interrelationships remain to be studied. For example, what are the mechanisms of emergence of post-traumatic stress disorders in the context of confinement? We also remind the reader of points of vigilance to be kept in mind with regard to eating disorders and hallucinations. Hallucinations are curiously ignored in the literature on confinement, whereas a vast literature links social isolation and hallucinations. Due to the broad psychopathological consequences, we have to look for these various symptoms to manage them. We quickly summarize the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches already in place, such as telemedicine, which is undergoing rapid development during the COVID-19 crisis.

The role of dopamine pharmacotherapy and addiction-like behaviors in Parkinson's disease.

Addictions involve a spectrum of behaviors that encompass features of impulsivity and compulsivity, herein referred to as impulsive-compulsive spectrum disorders (ICSDs). The etiology of ICSDs likely involves a complex interplay among neurobiological, psychological and social risk factors. Neurobiological risk factors include the status of the neuroanatomical circuits that govern ICSDs. These circuits can be altered by disease, as well as exogenous influences such as centrally-acting pharmacologics. The 'poster child' for this scenario is Parkinson's disease (PD) medically managed by pharmacological treatments. PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that involves a gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons largely within nigrostriatal projections. Replacement therapy includes dopamine receptor agonists that directly activate postsynaptic dopamine receptors (bypassing the requirement for functioning presynaptic terminals). Some clinically useful dopamine agonists, e.g., pramipexole and ropinirole, exhibit high affinity for the D2/D3 receptor subtypes. These agonists provide excellent relief from PD motor symptoms, but some patients exhibit debilitating ICSD. Teasing out the neuropsychiatric contribution of PD-associated pathology from the drugs used to treat PD motor symptoms is challenging. In this review, we posit that modern clinical and preclinical research converge on the conclusion that dopamine replacement therapy can mediate addictions in PD and other neurological disorders. We provide five categories of evidences that align with this position: (i) ICSD prevalence is greater with D2/D3 receptor agonist therapy vs PD alone. (ii) Capacity of dopamine replacement therapy to produce addiction-like behaviors is independent of disease for which the therapy is being provided. (iii) ICSD-like behaviors are recapitulated in laboratory rats with and without PD-like pathology. (iv) Behavioral pathology co-varies with drug exposure. (v) ICSD Features of ICSDs are consistent with agonist pharmacology and neuroanatomical substrates of addictions. Considering the underpinnings of ICSDs in PD should not only help therapeutic decision-making in neurological disorders, but also apprise ICSDs in general.

The Vaping Epidemic in Adolescents.

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has recently risen to the forefront of medical discussions across the country. A significant increase in e-cigarette use by adolescents has been observed over the last decade. This article discusses the targeting of adolescents by e-cigarette companies. It looks at how teenagers are uniquely affected by nicotine and at risk for progressing to using combustible cigarettes and marijuana. Lastly, it discusses the role of physicians in combating the spread of e-cigarettes.

Individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to social cues.

Research on the attribution of incentive salience to drug cues has furthered our understanding of drug self-administration in animals and addiction in humans. The influence of social cues on drug-seeking behavior has garnered attention recently, but few studies have investigated how social cues gain incentive-motivational value. In the present study, a Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) procedure was used to identify rats that are more (sign-trackers; STs) or less (goal-trackers; GTs) prone to attribute incentive salience to food reward cues. In Experiment 1, a novel procedure employed social 'peers' to compare the tendency of STs and GTs to attribute incentive salience to social reward cues as well as form a social-conditioned place preference. In Experiment 2, social behavior of STs and GTs was compared using social interaction and choice tests. Finally, in Experiment 3, levels of plasma oxytocin were measured in STs and GTs seven days after the last PCA training session, because oxytocin is known to modulate the mesolimbic reward system and social behavior. Compared to GTs, STs attributed more incentive salience to social-related cues and exhibited prosocial behaviors (e.g., social-conditioned place preference, increased social interaction, and social novelty-seeking). No group differences were observed in plasma oxytocin levels. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to both food- and social-related cues, which has important implications for the pathophysiology of addiction.

From envy to social anxiety and rumination: How social media site addiction triggers task distraction amongst nurses.

AIM: To investigate the effect of social networking site addiction on task distraction among nurses. BACKGROUND: Most of the existing literature focuses only on positive aspects of social networking site, while negative aspects thereof have rarely been highlighted. The current study focuses on finding the impact of social networking site addiction and mental states like envy, social anxiety and rumination on task distraction among nurses. METHOD: Data were collected through self-administrated questionnaires from 378 nurses in Pakistan. The study used descriptive and inferential statistics including correlation and structural equation modelling techniques to test the hypothesized model. RESULTS: The results suggest that social networking site addiction results in task distraction which is further enhanced by envy, social anxiety and rumination among nurses. CONCLUSION: The study contends that social networking site addiction stimulates various stressors among nurses such as envy, social anxiety and rumination that augment its negative effects on task distraction. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Findings of the study can be used develop strategies to control task distraction among nurses to limit its negative impact and to enhance work performance. Awareness campaigns can help nurses and other healthcare professionals to comprehend the effects of using social media at work.

Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Stress-Induced Cigarette Craving in Daily Smokers.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is a well-known public health concern, and there is an urgent need to develop new treatments to reduce smoking or facilitate abstinence. One factor that is known to contribute to relapse is stress, making the stress response an important target for treatment. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is believed to have stress-reducing effects, and in addition there is evidence that it reduces drug craving. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of intranasal OT on stress-induced cigarette craving in regular smokers after 12 h of abstinence. METHOD: Daily smokers (n = 48) completed a stress induction task and a nonstressful control task at two different sessions, receiving intranasal OT (40 IU) or placebo (PBO) before or after the task. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group PP (n = 16) received PBO before and after the stress/control tasks, Group OP (n = 16) received OT before the tasks and PBO after, and Group PO (n = 16) received PBO before the tasks and OT shortly after completing the tasks. Cigarette craving as well as subjective and physiological responses to stress was assessed. RESULTS: OT did not alter responses to stress, whether it was administered before or after the stressful task, on measures of cigarette craving, anxiety, heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels. CONCLUSIONS: The current study findings do not support several previous reports that OT reduced either stress or drug craving. IMPLICATIONS: This study finds a null result of the neuropeptide oxytocin on stress-induced cigarette craving. Reporting null findings is part of the process of identifying potential treatments for addictive disorders.

Quetiapine Abuse Fourteen Years Later: Where Are We Now? A Systematic Review.

Background: Quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic endowed with weak dopamine antagonist, potent 5-HT2A-blocking, partial 5-HT1A-agonist, anti-H1 histamine, adrenolytic, and sigma1 receptor agonist activities, since an original 2004 report is increasingly misused. Although some of its pharmacodynamics might explain some motives for voluptuary use, most of its actions are directed at setting-off those motives. Hence, it is possible that its popularity in special populations is due to the fact that the unpleasant or unwanted effects of addiction substances are somehow soothed by quetiapine. Currently, quetiapine is tested in substance use disorders, showing some promise, but it is likely to be misused in certain contexts. Objectives: To review the evidence for the use of quetiapine as addiction substance and investigate the characteristics of populations involved in such addiction. Methods: A systematic review of literature on various databases retrieved on September 7, 2018 87 records to comment. Results. We reviewed the evidence for quetiapine's addictive potential in the light of its pharmacodynamics properties and presented two cases of recreational quetiapine use, by a 35-year old male patient with past addictive behavior and by a 50-year-old woman with major depressive disorder and conversion disorder. We found quetiapine to be abused mainly by addict populations and people with law involvement. Conclusions/Importance: There is no reason to include quetiapine among regulated substances, but monitoring of its use in selected populations is warranted. Psychiatrists and physicians working in the penitentiary system should be aware of the addictive potential of quetiapine and adopt measures restricting its use.

Potential mechanisms for phencyclidine/ketamine-induced brain structural alterations and behavioral consequences.

Evidence of structural abnormalities in the nervous system of recreational drug [e.g., phencyclidine (PCP) or ketamine] users and/or preclinical animal research models suggests interference with the activity of multiple neurotransmitters, particularly glutamate neurotransmission. The damage to the central nervous system (CNS) may include neuronal loss, synaptic changes, disturbed neural network formation and reduced projections to subcortical fields. Notably, the reduced projections may considerably compromise the establishment of the subcortical areas, such as the nucleus accumbens located in the basal forebrain. With its abundant dopaminergic innervation, the nucleus accumbens is believed to be directly associated with addictive behaviors and mental disorders. This review seeks to delineate the relationship between PCP/ketamine-induced loss of cortical neurons and the reduced level of polysialic acid neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) in the striatum, and the likely changes in striatal synaptogenesis during development. The basic mechanism of how PSA-NCAM cell surface expression may be regulated will also be discussed, as well as the hypothesis that PSA-NCAM activity is critical to the regulation of synaptic protein expression. Overall, the present review will address the general hypothesis that damage/interruption of cortico-striatal communication and subcortical synaptogenesis could underlie the erratic/sensitization or addictive states produced by chronic or prolonged PCP/ketamine usage.