What kind of addiction is Internet abuse? Similarities and differences between substance and behavioral addictions

Internet abuse has been defined as 'addiction', as it shares behavioral, and also neurobiological aspects with other categories of dependencies. Similarities and differences between addictions with and without substances should be further investigated to avoid confusion in diagnostic criteria and intervention planning. This study aims to investigate whether internet abuse is related to overt substance addiction, if the presence of compulsive tendencies in personality traits can be considered a shared variable, and how different forms of abuse influence overall perceived well-being, taking into account also the level of Social Desirability. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), the State-anxiety, Depression, and the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Questionnaire (MOCQ-R) drawn from the Cognitive Behavioral Assessment Battery, and the Short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, were administered to a sample composed of 84 adult subjects, 43 diagnosed as addicted to substances and 43 non-addicted subjects, matched for gender and age. The results show that IAT scores are inversely correlated to the age of the subjects, but not linked with gender. As hypothesized, the control group shows higher levels of well-being, while the subjects diagnosed with substance addiction present higher levels of anxiety, depression, and higher compulsive scores, significantly correlated with depression. Higher levels of internet dependence are found in the non-diagnosed as addicted participants, suggesting caution in classifying dysregulated Internet behavior as 'addiction'.