title: Internet communication of outpatients with Asperger's disorder or schizophrenia in Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is insufficient information about the Internet usage of psychiatric patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the usage of Internet communication among subjects with Asperger's disorder (AD) or schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire survey was carried out in Japan among 29 outpatients with AD, 32 outpatients with schizophrenia, and 97 age-matched normal volunteers. This study limited the participants to young male adults (20- to 39-year-olds) using the Internet.
  
  
  RESULTS
  People with a diagnosis of AD prefer personal computers to mobile phones as their Internet terminal, have an inclination to use anonymous media, and tend to think that they can communicate more correctly through the Internet than face-to-face communication. People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia employ the Internet to a degree almost similar to controls, and tend to rely on unknown persons, but also sometimes feel hurt when communicating on the Internet. Moreover, their sensitivity to the risks of the Internet tends to decrease with the aggravation of their psychotic symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It may be important to pay attention to the excessive use of some limited media by people with a diagnosis of AD. Providing people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia with sufficient information about the risks of the Internet is also important.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; Moriyamasou Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watabe
authors.forename: Kunifumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asperger's disorder; Internet; communication; mobile phone; schizophrenia