Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate clinical comorbidity in children and adolescents with Internet addiction by using structured interview.


METHODS
The study was performed in 2 stages. We screened for the presence of Internet addiction among 455 children (mean +/- SD age = 11.0 +/- 0.9 years) and 836 adolescents (mean +/- SD age = 15.8 +/- 0.8 years) using Young's Internet Addiction Scale. These subjects also completed a measure of psychopathology for comparison between addicted and nonaddicted subjects. Sixty-three children (13.8%) and 170 adolescents (20.3%) screened positive for Internet addiction. Of these, 12 children (male, N = 9; female, N = 3) and 12 adolescents (male, N = 11; female, N = 1) were randomly selected for evaluation of current psychiatric diagnoses. Structured interviews used were K-SADS-PL-K for children and SCID-IV for adolescents. Data were collected and interviews were conducted from August 2003 through October 2004.


RESULTS
In the child group, 7 were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) not otherwise specified including those with subthreshold levels. Mean DuPaul's ADHD Rating Scale scores were more than 20% higher than the mean in Korean children for 6 subjects. In the adolescent group, 3 subjects had major depressive disorder, 1 had schizophrenia, and 1 had obsessive-compulsive disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
By structured interview, we found that Internet-addicted subjects had various comorbid psychiatric disorders. The most closely related comorbidities differ with age. Though we can not conclude that Internet addiction is a cause or consequence of these disorders, clinicians must consider the possibility of age-specific comorbid psychiatric disorders in cases of Internet addiction.
Ha
Jee Hyun
JH
Department of Psychiatry, Yongin Mental Hospital, South Korea. jhnha@naver.com
Yoo
Hee Jeong
HJ
Cho
In Hee
IH
Chin
Bumsu
B
Shin
Dongkeun
D
Kim
Ji Hyeon
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome