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Background: Problematic internet use has been described in the psychological literature as 'internet addiction' and 'pathological internet use'. However, there are no studies using face-to-face standardized psychiatric evaluations to identify behavioral characteristics, psychiatric comorbidity or family psychiatric history of individuals with this behavior., Methods: Twenty individuals with problematic internet use were evaluated. Problematic internet use was defined as (1) uncontrollable, (2) markedly distressing, time-consuming or resulting in social, occupational or financial difficulties and (3) not solely present during hypomanic or manic symptoms. Evaluations included a semistructured interview about subjects' internet use, the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (SCID-IV), family psychiatric history and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) modified for internet use., Results: All (100%) subjects' problematic internet use met DSM-IV criteria for an impulse control disorder (ICD) not otherwise specified (NOS). All 20 subjects had at least one lifetime DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis in addition to their problematic internet use (mean+/-SD=5.1+/-3.5 diagnoses); 14 (70.0%) had a lifetime diagnosis of bipolar disorder (with 12 having bipolar I disorder)., Limitations: Methodological limitations of this study included its small sample size, evaluation of psychiatric diagnoses by unblinded investigators, and lack of a control group., Conclusions: Problematic internet use may be associated with subjective distress, functional impairment and Axis I psychiatric disorders.

The purpose of the current research was to test the psychological impact of learning how to use computers and the Internet in old age, hypothesizing that such activities would contribute to seniors' well-being and personal sense of empowerment. Employing a quasi-experimental research design, we offered a course, conducted in small groups, in computer operation and Internet browsing to 22 older adults (mean age of 80) who went to day-care centers for the elderly or resided in nursing homes. A comparison group of 26 participants (similar in all major respects) was engaged in other activities. Both groups were administered measures of physical functioning, life satisfaction, depression, loneliness and self-control at pre- and post-intervention four months later. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who finished the computer course. ANCOVA was employed for controlling the effects of control variables and pre-intervention differences on participants who completed the activities. Results showed a significant improvement among participants in the intervention group in all measures except physical functioning, whereas deterioration in all measures was detected in the comparison group. Computer and Internet use seems to contribute to older adults' well-being and sense of empowerment by affecting their interpersonal interactions, promoting their cognitive functioning and contributing to their experience of control and independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]