Social Anxiety, Internet Addiction and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder in Adolescence

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between Internet addiction (IA), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among adolescents. The study consisted of 100 children aged 12–16; who were diagnosed with ADHD. A total of 100 adolescents completed the Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS) and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Children (Jr. MAI) -B form.Clinicians administered the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) and the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R). Teachers and parents of the children completed the Conners’ Rating Scales. The most important observation to emerge from the data comparison was that there was no statistically significant correlation between SASC-R and YIAS scores and there was no statistically significant correlation between YIAS and CASI scores. Contrary to expectations, in most of the measurements, there were no significant differences. The evidence from this study is incompatible with the idea that IA, and SAD are also related with the comorbid ADHD. We believe that our results may improve knowledge about the use of holistic perspective in the approach to IA and comorbid disorders

Keywords:

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, internet addiction, adolescent, comorbidity social anxiety,

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