Exploring individual differences in online addictions: The role of identity and attachment

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

Volumn 15, Issue 4, 2017, Pages 853-868

  Monacis, Lucia ^a   De Palo, Valeria ^a   Griffiths, Mark D ^b   Sinatra, Maria ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF FOGGIA   (Italy)

^b NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF BARI   (Italy)

Author keywords

Attachment styles; Behavioraladdictions; Identity styles; Onlineaddictions; Technological addictions

Indexed keywords

EID: 85018943925     PISSN: 15571874     EISSN: 15571882     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11469-017-9768-5     Document Type: Article

References (86)

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association.
2. Andreassen, C. S. (2015). Online social network site addiction: A comprehensive review. Current Addiction Reports, 2(2), 175-184. doi:10.1007/s40429-015-0056-9.
3. Andreassen, C. S., Torsheim, T., Brunborg, G. S., & Pallesen, S. (2012). Development of a Facebook addiction scale. Psychological Reports, 110, 501-517. doi:10.2466/02.09.18.PR0.110.2.501-517.
4. Andreassen, C. S., Griffiths, M. D., Gjertsen, S. R., Krossbakken, E., Kvam, S., & Pallesen, S. (2013). The relationships between behavioral addictions and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(2), 90-99. doi:10.1556/JBA.2.2013.003.
5. Andreassen, C. S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E., & Pallesen, S. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 252. doi:10.1037/adb0000160.
6. Arabzadeh, M., Bayanati, M., Nikdel, F., Nadery, M. S., & Naimi, G. (2012). The relationship of internet addiction with loneliness and identity styles. Journal of Science and Today’s World, 1(1), 59-70.
7. Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7(2), 147-178.
8. Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults. A test of a four category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226-244.
9. Berzonsky, M. D. (1989). Identity style: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Adolescent Research, 4, 267-281. doi:10.1177/074355488943002.
10. Berzonsky, M. D. (1990). Self-construction over the lifespan: A process perspective on identity formation. In G. J. Neimeyer & R. A. Neimeyer (Eds.), Advances in personal construct theory (Vol. 1, pp. 155-186). Greenwich: JAI.
11. Berzonsky, M. D. (2011). A social-cognitive perspective on identity construction. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 55-76). Springer: New York.
12. Berzonsky, M. D., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., Smits, I., Papini, D. R., & Goossens, L. (2013). Development and validation of the revised identity style inventory (ISI-5): Factor structure, reliability, and validity. Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 893-904. doi:10.1037/a0032642.
13. Bosma, H. A., & Kunnen, E. S. (2001). Determinants and mechanisms in ego identity development: A review and synthesis. Developmental Review, 21(1), 39-66. doi:10.1006/drev.2000.0514.
14. Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. NY: Basic Books.
15. Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: anxiety and anger. NY: Basic Books.
16. Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Sadness and depression. NY: Basic Books.
17. Brezing, C., Derevensky, J. L., & Potenza, M. N. (2010). Non-substance addictive behaviors in youth: Pathological gambling and problematic internet use. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 19(3), 625-641. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2010.03.012.
18. Cerniglia, L., Zoratto, F., Cimino, S., Laviola, G., Ammaniti, M., & Adriani, W. (2016). Internet addiction in adolescence: Neurobiological, psychosocial and clinical issues. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.024.
19. Ceyhan, E. (2010). Predictiveness of identity status, main internet use purposes and gender on university students’ problematic internet use. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 10(3), 1343-1355.
20. Christopherson, B. B., Jones, R.M., & Sales, A. P. (1988). Diversity in reported motivations for substance use as a function of ego-identity development. Journal of Adolescent Research, 3(2), 141-152.
21. Côté, J. E., & Levine, C. G. (2002). Identity formation, agency, and culture: A social psychological synthesis. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22. Doumen, S., Smits, I., Luyckx, K., Duriez, B., Vanhalst, J., Verschueren, K., & Goossens, L. (2012). Identity and perceived peer relationship quality in emerging adulthood: The mediating role of attachment-related emotions. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1417-1425. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.01.003.
23. Elphinston, R. A., & Noller, P. (2011). Time to face it! Facebook intrusion and the implications for romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 14, 631-635. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.031.
24. Feeney, J. A., Noller, P., & Hanrahan, M. (1994). Assessing adult attachment. In M. B. Sperling & W. H. Berman (Eds.), Attachment in adults: clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 128-152). New York: Guilford Press.
25. Fioravanti, G., & Casale, S. (2015). Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Italian internet addiction test. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(2), 120-128. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0493.
26. Fossati, A., Feeney, J. A., Donati, D., Domini, N., Novella, L., et al. (2003). On the dimensionality of the attachment style questionnaire in Italian clinical and nonclinical participants. Journal of Social Personal Relationships, 20(1), 50-79. doi:10.1177/0265407503020001187.
27. Fuster, H., Carbonell, X., Pontes, H. M. & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Spanish validation of the Internet Gaming Disorder-20 (IGD-20) Test. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 215-224.
28. Goldstein, R. Z., & Volkow, N. D. (2011). Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: Neuroimaging findings and clinical implications. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(11), 652-669. doi:10.1038/nrn3119.
29. Grant, J. E., Potenza, M. N., Weinstein, A., & Gorelick, D. A. (2010). Introduction to behavioral addictions. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 233-241. doi:10.3109/00952990.2010.491884.
30. Griffiths, M. D. (1995). Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum, 76, 14-19.
31. Griffiths, M. D. (1996). Internet addiction: An issue for clinical psychology? Clinical Psychology Forum, 97, 32-36.
32. Griffiths, M. (1998). Internet addiction: Does it really exist? In J. Gackenbach (Ed.), Psychology and the internet: intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonal applications (pp. 61-75). New York: Academic Press.
33. Griffiths, M. D. (1999). Internet addiction: Internet fuels other addictions. Student British Medical Journal, 7, 428-429.
34. Griffiths, M. (2000). Internet addiction - Time to be taken seriously? Addiction Research, 8(5), 413-418. doi:10.3109/16066350009005587.
35. Griffiths, M. D. (2005). A “components” model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10(4), 191-197. doi:10.1080/14659890500114359.
36. Griffiths, M. D. (2011). Behavioural addiction: The case for a biopsychosocial approach. Transgressive Culture, 1(1), 7-28.
37. Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Facebook addiction: Concerns, criticisms and recommendations. Psychological Reports, 110, 518-520.
38. Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Social networking addiction: Emerging themes and issues. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 4, e118. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000e118.
39. Griffiths, M. D. (2014). Child and adolescent social gaming: What are the issues of concern. Education and Health, 32, 19-22.
40. Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Adolescent gambling and gambling-type games on social networking sites: Issues, concerns, and recommendations. Aloma: Revista de Psicologia, Ciències de L’educació i de L’esport Blanquerna, 33(2), 31-37.
41. Griffiths, M. D., Van Rooij, A., Kardefelt-Winther, D., Starcevic, V., Király, O., et al. (2016). Working towards an international consensus on criteria for assessing internet gaming disorder: A critical commentary on Petry et al (2014). Addiction, 111, 167-175.
42. Grotevant, H. D. (1987). Toward a process model of identity formation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 2, 203-222.
43. Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511-524.
44. Hojjat, S. K., Golmakani, E., Bayazi, M. H., Mortazavi, R., Khalili, M. N., & Akaberi, A. (2015). Personality traits and identity styles in methamphetamine-dependent women: A comparative study. Global Journal of Health Science, 8(1), 14-20. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v8n1p14.
45. Jenkins-Guarnieri, M. A., Wright, S. L., & Hudiburgh, L. M. (2012). The relationships among attachment style, personality traits, interpersonal competency, and Facebook use. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33, 294-301. doi:10.1037/a0030946.
46. Kormas, G., Critselis, E., Janikian, M., Kafetzis, D., & Tsitsika, A. (2011). Risk factors and psychosocial characteristics of potential problematic and problematic internet use among adolescents: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 11, 595. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-595.
47. Kuss, D. J., & Billieux, J. (2016). Technological addictions: Conceptualisation, measurement, etiology and treatment. Addictive Behaviors. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.04.005.
48. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2011). Online social networking and addiction. A review of the psychological literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(9), 3528-3552. doi:10.3390/ijerph8093528.
49. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(1), 3-22. doi:10.1556/JBA.1.2012.1.1.
50. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14, 311. doi:10.3390/ijerph14030311.
51. Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M., Karila, L., & Billieux, J. (2014). Internet addiction: A systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 20(25), 4026-4052. doi:10.2174/13816128113199990617.
52. Lin, J. H. (2015). The role of attachment style in Facebook use and social capital: Evidence from university students and a national sample. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(3), 173-180. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0341.
53. Lin, J. H. (2016). Need for relatedness: a self-determination approach to examining attachment styles, Facebook use, and psychological well-being. Asian Journal of Communication, 26(2), 153-173. doi:10.1080/01292986.2015.1126749.
54. Lin, M. P., Ko, H. C., & Wu, J. Y. W. (2011). Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors associated with internet addiction in a nationally representative sample of college students in Taiwan. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(12), 741-746. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0574.
55. Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 551-558.
56. Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York: Guilford Press.
57. Monacis, L., de Palo, V., Griffiths, M. D., & Sinatra, M. (2016a). Validation of the internet gaming disorder scaleshort form (IGDS9-SF) in an Italian-speaking people. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 5(4), 683-690. doi:10.1556/2006.5.2016.083.
58. Monacis, L., de Palo, V., Di Nuovo, S., & Sinatra, M. (2016b). Validation of the rational and experiential multimodal inventory in the Italian context. Psychological Reports, 119(1), 242-262. doi:10.1177/0033294116657623.
59. Monacis, L., de Palo, V., Sinatra, M., & Berzonsky, M. D. (2016c). The revised identity style inventory: Factor structure and validity in Italian speaking students. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(883), 1-7. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00883.
60. Montag, C., Kirsch, P., Sauer, C., Markett, S., & Reuter, M. (2012). The role of the CHRNA4 gene in internet addiction: A case-control study. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 6(3), 191-195. doi:10.1097/ADM.0b013e31825ba7e7.
61. Morsünbül, Ü. (2014). Internet addiction in adolescence period: its relations with identity style and ruminative exploration. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry, 15(1), 77-83. doi:10.5455/apd.43504.
62. Odacı, H., & Çıkrıkçı, Ö. (2014). Problematic internet use in terms of gender, attachment styles and subjective well-being in university students. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, 61-66. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.11.019.
63. Oldmeadow, J. A., Quinn, S., & Kowert, R. (2013). Attachment style, social skills, and Facebook use amongst adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 1142-1149. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.10.006.
64. Pempek, T. A., Yermolayeva, Y. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2009). College students’ social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 227-238. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010.
65. Petry, N. M., Rehbein, F., Gentile, D. A., Lemmens, J. S., Rumpf, H. J., et al. (2014). An international consensus for assessing internet gaming disorder using the new DSM-5 approach. Addiction, 109, 1399-1406.
66. Pfeil, U., Arjan, R., & Zaphiris, P. (2009). Age differences in online social networking-A study of user profiles and the social capital divide among teenagers and older users in MySpace. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 643-654. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2008.08.015.
67. Pontes, H. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Measuring DSM-5 internet gaming disorder: Development and validation of a short psychometric scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 137-143. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.006.
68. Pontes, H. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Portuguese validation of the internet gaming disorder scale-shortform. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19(4), 288-293. doi:10.1089/cyber.2015.0605.
69. Pontes, H., Király, O., Demetrovics, Z., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). The conceptualisation and measurement of DSM-5 internet gaming disorder: The development of the IGD-20 test. PloS One, 9(10), e110137. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110137.
70. Raacke, J., & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and facebook: applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11, 169-174. doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.0056.
71. Rom, E., & Alfasi, Y. (2014). The role of adult attachment style in online social network affect, cognition, and behavior. Journal of Psychology, 1(1), 24-34.
72. Schimmenti, A., Passanisi, A., Gervasi, A. M., Manzella, S., & Fama, F. I. (2014). Insecure attachment attitudes in the onset of problematic internet use among late adolescents. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45(5), 588-595. doi:10.1007/s10578-013-0428-0.
73. Severino, S., & Craparo, G. (2013). Internet addiction, attachment styles, and social self-efficacy. Global Journal of Psychology Research, 1, 9-16.
74. Shin, S. E., Kim, N. S., & Jang, E. Y. (2009). Comparison of problematic internet and alcohol use and attachment styles among industrial workers in Korea. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 665-672. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0470.
75. Sinatra, M., de Palo, V., Contini, P., & Volpicella, V. (2016). Identity styles and internet-related addictive behaviors in adolescents. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 1161-1165.
76. Tabaraei, N., Nikoogoftar, M., & Minoosepehr, S. (2014). Determination of problematic internet use: Identity styles and social skills. IAU International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), 27-34.
77. Wang, C. W., Chan, C. L., Mak, K. K., Ho, S. Y., Wong, P. W., & Ho, R. T. (2014). Prevalence and correlates of video and internet gaming addiction among Hong Kong adolescents: A pilot study. The Scientific World Journal, 2014, 874648. doi:10.1155/2014/874648.
78. White, J. M., Wampler, R. S., & Winn, K. I. (1998). The identity style inventory: A revision with a sixth-grade reading level (ISI-6G). Journal of Adolescent Research, 13(2), 223-245. doi:10.1177/0743554898132007.
79. White, J. M., Montgomery, M. J., Wampler, R. S., & Fischer, J. L. (2003). Recovery from alcohol or drug abuse: The relationship between identity styles and recovery behaviors. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 3(4), 325-345. doi:10.1207/S1532706XID0304_02.
80. Wittek, C. T., Finserås, T. R., Pallesen, S., Mentzoni, R. A., Hanss, D., Griffiths, M. D., & Molde, H. (2016). Prevalence and predictors of video game addiction: A study based on a national representative sample of gamers. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 14(5), 672-686. doi:10.1007/s11469-015-9592-8.
81. Wu, T-Y., Lin, C-Y., Årestedt, K., Griffiths, M.D., Broström, A, Pakpour, A.H. (2017). Psychometric validation of the Persian Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form: does gender and hours spent gaming online affect the interpretations of item descriptions? Journal of Behavioral Addiction. doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.025.
82. Yaakobi, E., & Goldenberg, J. (2014). Social relationships and information dissemination in virtual social network systems: An attachment theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 38, 127-135. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.025.
83. Young, K. (1996). Psychology of computer use: XL. Addictive use of the internet: A case that breaks the stereotype. Psychological Reports, 79, 899-902.
84. Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 1, 237-244.
85. Young, K. (1999). Internet addiction: symptoms, evaluation and treatment. In L. VandeCreek & T. Jackson (Eds.), Innovations in clinical practice: A source book, 17 (pp. 19-31). Sarasota: Professional Resource Press.
86. Zamani, B. E., Abedini, Y., & Kheradmand, A. (2011). Internet addiction based on personality characteristics of high school students in Kerman, Iran. Addiction & Health, 3(3-4), 85-91.