Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35841819›Full record

ArticleJournal of psychiatric research2022

The COVID-19 pandemic and problematic usage of the internet: Findings from a diverse adult sample in South Africa.

Christine Lochner, Lucy Albertella, Martin Kidd, Zelal Kilic, Konstantinos Ioannidis, Jon E Grant, Murat Yücel, Dan J Stein, Samuel R Chamberlain

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of psychiatric research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Effects of personality traits on mindful self-care practices of healthcare workers.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2023
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Christine LochnerSAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa. Electronic address: cl2@sun.ac.za.
Lucy AlbertellaBrainPark, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences & Monash Biomedical Imaging Facility, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Martin KiddCentre for Statistical Consultation, Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa.
Zelal KilicDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Konstantinos IoannidisDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Jon E GrantDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Murat YücelBrainPark, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences & Monash Biomedical Imaging Facility, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Dan J SteinSAMRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Samuel R ChamberlainDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Southampton; and Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
Monash University · AUSouth African Medical Research Council · ZAUniversity of Cambridge · GBStellenbosch University · ZAUniversity of Chicago · USUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has led to increased reliance on the internet. How problematic usage of the internet (PUI) and COVID-19 related stress and other clinical variables relate, is unknown. We hypothesised that higher PUI level would be significantly associated with higher levels of: (i) pandemic-related stress; and (ii) impulsive and compulsive symptoms and traits.

methodsAn online community-based cross-sectional survey was used for data collection. Relationships between PUI level and other variables were characterised using correlational analyses. Regression analyses determined the cumulative explanatory power of variables, with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to explore path loadings. ANOVA was used to investigate PUI level at varying lockdown levels.

resultsData from 2110 participants (64.5% female), aged 18-64 years (mean: 24.3, SD: 8.1) suggested that approximately a quarter (n = 489, 23.2%) had medium to high level internet use problems. Impulsive and compulsive symptoms and traits, pandemic-stress, and age were all significantly related to PUI (p < 0.01). These associations (medium effect sizes) cumulatively explained 29% of PUI variance. PLS-SEM indicated significant contributory effects, with the association between age and PUI level mediated by impulsivity, pandemic-stress and compulsivity. DISCUSSION: Pandemic-stress, impulsive-compulsive symptoms and traits and age were related to PUI level. Enhancing resilience to stress, particularly in vulnerable populations, through lifestyle changes and implementation of adaptive coping strategies, is key to reduce risk for PUI during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAdultCommunicable Disease ControlCompulsive BehaviorCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansInternetMaleSouth Africa

Identifiers

PMID35841819
PMCPMC9239549
OpenAlexW4283691849

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.