Examining the Hypothesis of Common Factors Shared by Different Addictive Behaviors and Gender Effects on Propensity to Addiction Type

Background: From the two facts reported by previous research: 1) frequent co-occurrence of more than one addictive behavior, 2) childhood adversities identified as origins of different types of addictive behaviors, it is assumed that all types of addictive behaviors, regardless of substance, behavioral, or relationship, share common factors which have not yet been proven by epidemiological research. The Shorter PROMIS Questionnaire (SPQ) was previously developed to assess 16 types of addictive behaviors. Its factor structure, however, has not been fully investigated. Confirming the factor structure will enable us to hypothesize the common factor(s) shared by all, or if not all, most types of addictive behaviors. Aims: This study aimed at 1) examining the factor structure of the SPQ, 2) confirming the reliability of the questionnaire, and 3) examining the impacts of gender and age on each addictive behavior. Methods: Data obtained from 232 Japanese adults who completed all items of the SPQ were used for the analyses. After confirming the one-factor structure model for each of the 16 subscales, the validity of the one-factor structure of the SPQ was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), by adapting 16 subscale scores as observed variables. If its validity was not confirmed, another model which showed better compatibility to the data was explored. The reliability of the SPQ as well as that of all 16 subscales was evaluated. Also, the impacts of gender and age on each subscale score were examined. Results: The one-factor structure for each of the 16 subscales was confirmed. The compatibility of the SPQ one-factor model was not acceptable. The best fit model was a bi-factor model in which one main factor was shared by all 16 subscales, and three factors were shared by some specific addictive behaviors. Male respondents were more likely than female respondents to show high scores in Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling, Sex, and Recreational Drugs, and low scores only in Shopping. Respondents’ age did not impact any of the 16 subscale scores. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that there are common factors shared by all different types, as well as selected types of addictive behaviors, by conducting CFAs of the SPQ. Reliability was proven for the SPQ and for all 16 subscales. Male respondents were more likely to show physically hedonic addictive behaviors.

Influence of childhood trauma on adolescent internet addiction: The mediating roles of loneliness and negative coping styles

BACKGROUND In the information age,the use of the internet and multimedia tools has large effects on the life of middle school students.Improper use of the internet may result in internet addiction(IA).Thus,actively exploring the factors influencing adolescent and the mechanism of addiction as well as promoting adolescent physical and mental health and academic development are priorities that families,schools,and society urgently need to address.AIM To explore the effect of childhood trauma on adolescent IA and to consider the roles of loneliness and negative coping styles.METHODS A total of 11310 students from six junior high schools in Henan,China,completed the child trauma questionnaire,IA test,loneliness scale,and simple coping style questionnaire.In addition,data were collected from 1044 adolescents with child-hood trauma for analysis with IBM SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0;we examined the relationships among childhood trauma,IA,loneliness,and negative coping styles.RESULTS We found that childhood trauma not only directly affected adolescents’IA but also affected IA through loneliness and negative coping styles.CONCLUSION Therefore,this study has theoretical implications regarding adolescent mental health and may inform interventions for IA.

Electro-acupuncture Treatment for Internet Addiction: Evidence of Normalization of Impulse Control Disorder in Adolescents

Objective： To observe the impacts of electro-acupuncture（EA） and psychological intervention（PI） on impulsive behavior among internet addiction（IA） adolescents. Methods： Thirty-two IA adolescents were allocated to either EA（16 cases） or PI（16 cases） group by a randomized digital table. Subjects in the EA group received EA treatment and subjects in the PI group received cognition and behavior therapy. All adolescents underwent 45-d intervention. Sixteen healthy volunteers were recruited into a control group. Barratt Impulsiveness Scale（BIS-11） scores, Young＇s Internet Addiction Test（IAT） as well as the ratio of brain N-acetyl aspartate（NAA） to creatine（NAA/Cr） and choline（Cho） to creatine（Cho/Cr） were recorded by magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after intervention respectively. Results： The IAT scores and BIS-11 total scores in both EA and PI group were remarkably decreased after treatment（P〈0.05）, while EA group showed more significant decrease in certain BIS-11 sub-factors（P〈0.05）. Both NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr were significantly improved in EA group after treatment（P〈0.05）; however, there were no significant changes of NAA/Cr or Cho/Cr in PI group after treatment（P〉0.05）. Conclusions： Both EA and PI had significantly positive effect on IA adolescents, especially in the aspects of psychological experiences and behavioral expressions, EA might have an advantage over PI in terms of impulsivity control and brain neuron protection. The mechanism underlying this advantage might be related to the increased NAA and Cho levels in prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices.