{"id":7422,"date":"2020-03-10T19:45:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T19:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalcriteria.com\/web\/?p=7422"},"modified":"2026-01-13T19:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:36:30","slug":"internet-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medicalcriteria.com\/web\/internet-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"99c380e4b4a7b96c35d7ddf7dcb434e8\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- MC 2019- Horizontal -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-0127150553352455\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3806776041\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Behavioural addiction affects a vast number of individuals and occurs when people find themselves unable to control the frequency or amount of a previously harmless behavior such as love, sex, gambling, work, internet and chatroom usage, shopping or exercise. Behavioural addictions are considered impulse-control disorders and share many underlying similarities to substance addictions, including aspects of tolerance, withdrawal, repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut back or quit and impairment in everyday life functioning.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Proposed Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(a) Symptom criterion<br \/>\nAll the following must be present:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Preoccupation with the internet (thinks about previous online activity or anticipates next online session)<\/li>\n<li>Withdrawal, as manifested by a dysphoric mood, anxiety, irritability and boredom after several days without internet activity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>At least one (or more) of the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Tolerance, marked increase in internet use required to achieve satisfaction<\/li>\n<li>Persistent desire and\/or unsuccessful attempts to control, cut back or discontinue internet use<\/li>\n<li>Continued excessive use of internet despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem likely to have been caused or exacerbated by internet use<\/li>\n<li>Loss of interests, previous hobbies, entertainment as a direct result of, and with the exception of, internet use<\/li>\n<li>Uses the internet to escape or relieve a dysphoric mood (e.g. feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>(b) Exclusion criterion:<br \/>\nExcessive internet use is not better accounted for by psychotic disorders or bipolar I disorder<\/p>\n<p>(c) Clinically significant impairment criterion:<br \/>\nFunctional impairments (reduced social, academic, working ability), including loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunities<\/p>\n<p>(d) Course criterion<br \/>\nDuration of internet addiction must have lasted for an excess of 3 months, with at least 6 hours of internet usage(non-business\/non-academic) per day<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Tao R, Huang X, Wang J, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Li M. Proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction.\u00a0Addiction. 2010 Mar;105(3):556-64. <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20403001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[Medline]<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jorgenson AG, Hsiao RC, Yen CF. Internet Addiction and Other Behavioral Addictions.\u00a0Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2016 Jul;25(3):509-20. <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27338971\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[Medline]<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Chew PKH, Hazra A, Quek ICL, Seng SHM, Vickneshwaran N, Tan CWX. Big Five Traits and Facets, Internet Gaming Disorder, and Social Media Addiction. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2025 Dec 26:207640251400795. <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/41451472\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">[Medline]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Created Mar 5, 2020<br \/>\nUp-date Jan 13, 2026.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sorry, this entry is only available in Espa\u00f1ol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[2137,2139,16,15,14,13,2145],"class_list":["post-7422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-psychiatry","tag-addiction","tag-adiccion","tag-criteria","tag-criterios","tag-diagnostic","tag-diagnostico","tag-internet"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - 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