Obsessive internet use should be officially recognised as a clinical disorder, according to a psychiatrist. The new finding will make mental health professionals face a new affliction, besides compulsive gambling or even the 'age-old' smoking and drug addiction.
Louise Nadeau, from Universite de Montreal's Department of Psychology, is now investigating this newly found compulsive affliction, in which large number of people are continuously hooked on to the Internet for hours.
Nadeau is director of the new university institute on addiction that conducts epidemiological studies on addiction, evaluate the services available to patients, guarantee state-of-the-art practices, and document new forms of addiction.
There is no lack of data on compulsive gambling and alcoholism. But there is a vacuum when it comes to Internet addiction. There is no reliable study or clinical data on the issue. We are starting from scratch," said Nadeau.
In a survey conducted in the Quebec health network, it was deduced that hundreds of patients have consulted a professional about this issue.
Now the scientists are hoping to further develop this data and determine the clinical threshold of addiction, establish how the disease evolves and elaborate intervention techniques. In order to better communicate their findings, the institute will use a knowledge broker.
"It's like a journalist for a research team but the public is made up of clinicians. The broker must communicate the data in accessible terms and make sure it is targeted to the needs of practitioners," explained Nadeau.
Psychiatrists have previously reported that between five and 10 per cent of online users are internet addicts.
Tags: internet, internet addiction, gambling, smoking, drug addiction, psychology, psychiatrists.
