Bored with boredom? Trait boredom predicts internet addiction through the mediating role of attentional bias toward social networks

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Riccardo Palumbo¹  Loreta Cannito²  Eleonora D’Intino³  Eugenia Annunzi³  Alessandro Bortolotti³  Irene Ceccato⁴  Rocco Palumbo⁴  Alberto Di Domenico⁴  Claudio D’Addario⁵ 

[1] Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), Chieti, Italy;Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy;Department of Humanities, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy;Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), Chieti, Italy;Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy;Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy;Faculty of Bioscience and Technology for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy;Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: information processing;    attention paradigms;    social networks;    problematic internet use;    internet addiction;    dot-probe task;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2023.1179142

 received in 2023-03-03, accepted in 2023-08-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Internet addiction is an emerging issue, impacting people’s psychosocial functioning and well-being. However, the prevalence and the mechanisms underlying internet misuse are largely unknown. As with other behavioral addiction disorders, the increase and persistence of internet addiction may be favored by negative affect such as boredom. In this study, we examined the role of boredom susceptibility, as a personality trait, in predicting the risk of internet addiction. Furthermore, we analyzed the attentional mechanisms that may exacerbate dysfunctional internet behaviors. Specifically, we assessed the mediating role of attentional bias toward social media cues on the relation between boredom susceptibility and internet addiction. Sixty-nine young adults were administered a dot-probe task assessing internet-related attentional bias (AB) and questionnaires measuring internet addiction (IAT) and boredom susceptibility (BS-BSSS). Correlation and t-test analyses confirmed that the tendency to experience boredom and selective attention toward social network information was related to internet addiction. Furthermore, the mediation model indicated that AB fully explains the link between BS-BSSS and IAT. The study highlighted the crucial role of selective attentional processing behind internet addiction. The current results are useful for both researchers and clinicians as they suggest that intervention programs for internet addiction should include strategies to cope with dysfunctional cognitive processes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Cannito, Ceccato, Annunzi, Bortolotti, D’Intino, Palumbo, D’Addario, Di Domenico and Palumbo.