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• Assessment of daily internet use time could assist in periodic screening of students at-risk of problematic internet use. • This would help in early detection and referral to an appropriate mental health expert for further assessment and management. • Future studies should explore the optimum threshold value for achieving the desired level of sensitivity and specificity. The current article explored the possibility of using daily internet use time as an indicator for problematic internet use (PIU) among college/ university students based on observations from a multi-centric, multi-country study conducted across eight different countries. Additionally, the current article explored whether daily night time sleep and physical activity can serve as possible indicators of PIU. The present article presents the findings from analysis of information collected from 2643 college/university students from eight countries. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to compare the predictive performance of three different indicator variables in the study participants to determine PIU. The AUC for daily internet use time was 0.64 (95 % CI: 0.62 to 0.656), which was higher than the AUC for weekly physical activity (0.599; 95 % CI: 0.580 to 0.618) and daily night time sleep (0.563; 95 % CI: 0.544 to 0.582). The AUC for three indicator variables was compared, which showed that the AUC for daily internet time was significantly higher than the AUC for daily night-time sleep. The assessment of daily internet use time as part of a larger battery of general health-related questions could be applied periodically among young students for screening of PIU in addition to a host of other important mental and physical health related conditions and behaviors. However, further studies are needed to determine optimal cut-off depending upon the desired trade-off between sensitivity and specificity for screening among different populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors among elementary school children were evaluated using the Children’s Eating Attitude Test. Our findings demonstrate that students in early adolescence have disturbed eating attitudes and behaviors. We recommend screening for eating disorders in this group in order to provide primary and secondary prevention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A current research trend is the identification of psychosocial variables that moderate and/or mediate the association between stressors and psychopathological symptoms. Research has shown Locus of Control (LoC) is a key cognitive component of this psychological process in adolescents from individualist cultures. It is unclear whether this finding can be generalized to collectivist adolescents given that LoC is argued to be a culturally relative construct. The study examined the moderating and mediating effects of LoC on the relationship between negative events and psychopathological symptoms (anxiety and depressive symptoms) in adolescents from collectivist countries (n = 2800). Consistent with prior research, negative life events and external LoC were associated with more psychopathological symptoms. Unlike past studies with samples from individualist countries, the study did not produce clear evidence that LoC moderated or mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in terms of cultural differences in the (un)desirability of external control. • LoC has stress-mediating and stress-moderating effects in individualist cultures. • Such effects have not been tested in adolescents from collectivist cultures. • The study tested 2800 adolescents from 7 collectivist countries. • Replicating prior studies, external LoC was linked to more psychological symptoms. • However, there was no clear evidence of mediating or moderating effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]