Una revisión de los factores de riesgo implicados en la adicción a internet en jóvenes

Zusammenfassung

Internet use has emerged in recent times as a problem that deserves attention from researchers and clinicians. In fact, the term “Internet addiction (IA)” captures increasing attention in the fields of health and social sciences, especially in adolescents. As the IA has become important, the study of risk factors involved in its development has also gained interest. At this regards, in this paper the body of research on such factors is reviewed. The review identifies several sources of risk: personality traits (neuroticism and openness to experience); psychopathological symptoms (anxiety, depression, behavioral problems); sociodemographic factors (being male, having higher incomes); psychosocial factors (impoverished family and social environment). Although some limitations must be overcome in future research (more prospective studies in diverse cultural contexts are needed), the reviewed studies allow identification of risk factors that should be addressed by prevention strategies.