Comprehensive Psychiatry (Jul 2020)
Preventing problematic internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Consensus guidance
- Orsolya Király,
- Marc N. Potenza,
- Dan J. Stein,
- Daniel L. King,
- David C. Hodgins,
- John B. Saunders,
- Mark D. Griffiths,
- Biljana Gjoneska,
- Joël Billieux,
- Matthias Brand,
- Max W. Abbott,
- Samuel R. Chamberlain,
- Ornella Corazza,
- Julius Burkauskas,
- Célia M.D. Sales,
- Christian Montag,
- Christine Lochner,
- Edna Grünblatt,
- Elisa Wegmann,
- Giovanni Martinotti,
- Hae Kook Lee,
- Hans-Jürgen Rumpf,
- Jesús Castro-Calvo,
- Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar,
- Susumu Higuchi,
- Jose M. Menchon,
- Joseph Zohar,
- Luca Pellegrini,
- Susanne Walitza,
- Naomi A. Fineberg,
- Zsolt Demetrovics
Affiliations
- Orsolya Király
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Marc N. Potenza
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA; Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Dan J. Stein
- SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry & Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Daniel L. King
- College of Education, Psychology, & Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
- David C. Hodgins
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- John B. Saunders
- Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Mark D. Griffiths
- Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Biljana Gjoneska
- Academy of Sciences and Arts of North Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia
- Joël Billieux
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Matthias Brand
- General Psychology: Cognition and Center for Behavioral Addiction Research (CeBAR), University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
- Max W. Abbott
- Gambling and Addictions Research Centre, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
- Samuel R. Chamberlain
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK; Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Ornella Corazza
- Department of Clinical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom; Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Julius Burkauskas
- Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Palanga, Lithuania
- Célia M.D. Sales
- Psychology and Education Sciences, Center for Psychology University of Porto, Portugal
- Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- Christine Lochner
- SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
- Edna Grünblatt
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and the ETH, Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland; Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Elisa Wegmann
- General Psychology: Cognition and Center for Behavioral Addiction Research (CeBAR), University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
- Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, Clinical Sciences, ‘Gabriele d'Annunzio’ University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy
- Hae Kook Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea
- Hans-Jürgen Rumpf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Germany
- Jesús Castro-Calvo
- Department of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatments, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Susumu Higuchi
- National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center, National Center for Addiction Services Administration, Yokosuka, Japan
- Jose M. Menchon
- Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, University of Barcelona, Cibersam, Barcelona, Spain
- Joseph Zohar
- Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Luca Pellegrini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy; University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK; Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
- Susanne Walitza
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and the ETH, Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland; Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Naomi A. Fineberg
- University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK; Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom; University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Zsolt Demetrovics
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Corresponding author at: Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary.
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 100
p. 152180
Abstract
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have introduced steps such as spatial distancing and “staying at home” to curb its spread and impact. The fear resulting from the disease, the ‘lockdown’ situation, high levels of uncertainty regarding the future, and financial insecurity raise the level of stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by people all around the world. Psychoactive substances and other reinforcing behaviors (e.g., gambling, video gaming, watching pornography) are often used to reduce stress and anxiety and/or to alleviate depressed mood. The tendency to use such substances and engage in such behaviors in an excessive manner as putative coping strategies in crises like the COVID-19 pandemic is considerable. Moreover, the importance of information and communications technology (ICT) is even higher in the present crisis than usual. ICT has been crucial in keeping parts of the economy going, allowing large groups of people to work and study from home, enhancing social connectedness, providing greatly needed entertainment, etc. Although for the vast majority ICT use is adaptive and should not be pathologized, a subgroup of vulnerable individuals are at risk of developing problematic usage patterns. The present consensus guidance discusses these risks and makes some practical recommendations that may help diminish them.
