JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The societal and public health costs of Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI) are increasingly recognised as a concern across all age groups, presenting a growing challenge for mental health research. International scientific initiatives emphasise the need to explore the potential roles of intrapersonal factors in PUI. Compulsivity is an important intrapersonal factor of PUI. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding relationships between specific dimensions of compulsivity and PUI symptoms, hindering understanding of mechanisms underpinning these phenomena.

Objective:

The current study employed a symptom-based network approach to elucidate the distinct relations between dimensions of compulsivity (i.e., perfectionism, reward drive, and cognitive rigidity) and PUI symptoms.

Methods:

A regularised partial-correlation networks were fitted using a large-scale sample from United Kingdom (n = 122,345). Bridge centrality analysis was conducted to identify bridge nodes within the network.

Results:

Several strong mechanistic relationships were identified, including the link between cognitive rigidity and coping-motivated internet use. Additionally, reward drive and cognitive rigidity emerged as key bridge nodes, positively linked to PUI symptoms, while perfectionism was negatively associated with PUI symptoms.

Conclusions:

The findings highlight distinct relations between facets of compulsivity and PUI symptoms, supporting the need of tailoring interventions to specific symptom profiles. Further, the identified bridge nodes (i.e., reward drive and cognitive rigidity) may be promising prevention and intervention targets for PUI.