Abstract
Information technology addictions research has been limited in comparing the addictions with their predictive ability of negative consequences, a key criterion for many disorders, contributing to prevention and treatment efforts. Furthermore, there were overlaps among the addictions, proving the need to control for each addiction, which earlier studies had not done. Therefore, the current study examined whether general or specific addictions were associated with a higher risk of negative consequences whilst controlling for age and gender. General addictions, like Internet addiction (IA) and smartphone addiction (SA), indicated the addictive tendency towards technology and technological devices. Specific addictions, such as Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and social media addiction (SMA), indicated the addictive tendency towards gaming and social media content. Participants were a convenience sample of 191 (61.25% females) recruited from social media platforms and the university’s research participation system. Five hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted with IA, SA, IGD, and SMA as the predictors, and predicted for each common negative consequence identified among the addictions. The common negative consequences are depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, and sleep quality. The results showed that IA and SA were significant predictors of stress, and IA significantly predicted poor sleep quality while SA significantly predicted depression. Comparatively, IGD and SMA did not significantly predict any of the negative consequences. Limitations include sample’s generalizability and conceptualizations of IA, SA, and SMA. Future research directions include replication studies, recognition and interventions for general addictions, and exploring the interactions among the addictions, negative consequences, and other risk factors.
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Tan, C.S.Y., Chew, P.K.H. General addiction versus specific addiction: which is associated with a higher risk of negative consequences. Curr Psychol 43, 35249–35260 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-07015-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-07015-z