title: Problematic Internet use was more common in Turkish adolescents with major depressive disorders than controls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared problematic Internet use (PIU) rates in 12- to 18-year-olds with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls and explored potential links between PIU and suicide among patients with MDD.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample consisted of 120 patients with MDD (62.5% girls) and 100 controls (58% girls) with a mean age of 15. Suicide ideation and suicide attempts were evaluated, and sociodemographic data were collected. In addition, the Children's Depression Inventory, Young Internet Addiction Test and Suicide Probability Scale were applied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that PIU rates were significantly higher in the MDD cases than the controls (p < 0.001). The analysis of covariance results showed that there was no relationship between potential suicide and the Young Internet Addiction Test score in MDD cases. However, the hopelessness subscale scores of the MDD patients with PIU were significantly higher than the scores of those without PIU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that PIU was higher in adolescents with MDD and hopelessness was more prevalent among MDD patients with PIU, but no links with potential suicide were found. As this study was a cross-sectional one, it did not allow us to infer a causality relationship between PIU and MDD.
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors: Ahmet Hamdi
authors: AH
authors: Alpaslan
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
authors: Nusret
authors: N
authors: Soylu
authors: Department of Forensic Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors: Ugur
authors: U
authors: Kocak
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors: Halil Ibrahim
authors: HI
authors: Guzel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D014421:Turkey
keywords: Adolescents; Hopelessness; Major depressive disorder; Problematic Internet use