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The Prevalence of Internet Addiction Among a Japanese Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic Sample With Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

Extant literature suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are risk factors for internet addiction (IA). The present cross-sectional study explored the prevalence of IA among 132 adolescents with ASD and/or ADHD in a Japanese psychiatric clinic using Young’s Internet Addiction Test. The prevalence of IA among adolescents with ASD alone, with ADHD alone and with comorbid ASD and ADHD were 10.8, 12.5, and 20.0%, respectively. Our results emphasize the clinical importance of screening and intervention for IA when mental health professionals see adolescents with ASD and/or ADHD in psychiatric services.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank E. Miki, R. Ohta, and K. Kitagawa for coordination and data management with the present study. We also thank J. Arakane, and the outpatient clinic staff in Okayama Psychiatric Medical Center, for assistance in data collection with the study.

Author’s Contributions

RS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis, interpretation of the data and drafted the manuscript; KM conceived of the study, participated in the design, coordination and data collection, interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; MF participated in the design, interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; TH participated in interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; KO, SK and ST participated in data collection and interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript; MI participated in the design and coordination, interpretation of the data and coordination and drafted the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This study received no specific grant from any funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Okayama Psychiatric Medical Center, 3-16 Shikatahonmachi, Kita Ward, Okayama, 700-0915, Japan

    Ryuhei So, Kazunori Makino, Kozo Ohcho & Shin Ikeda

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan

    Masaki Fujiwara & Masatoshi Inagaki

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Tomoya Hirota

  4. Okayama Child Counseling Center, Okayama, Japan

    Shouko Tsubouchi

  5. Okayama Center for Developmental Disorders, Okayama, Japan

    Shouko Tsubouchi

Authors
  1. Ryuhei So
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  2. Kazunori Makino
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  3. Masaki Fujiwara
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  4. Tomoya Hirota
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  5. Kozo Ohcho
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  6. Shin Ikeda
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  7. Shouko Tsubouchi
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  8. Masatoshi Inagaki
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryuhei So.

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Conflict of interest

All authors have no conflict of interest to declare. TH has received honorarium for speaking at symposia from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.. MI has received lecture fees from Pfizer Japan Inc.; Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Shionogi & Co., Ltd.; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.; Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.; Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd.; and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., outside the submitted work. He has received royalties from Nippon Hyoron Sha Co., Ltd.; Nanzando Co., Ltd.; Seiwa Shoten Co., Ltd.; Igaku-shoin Ltd.; and Technomics, Inc., outside the submitted work. He has received grant or research support from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. The institution to which MF and MI belong has received grant or research support from Eisai Co., Ltd.; Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Astellas Pharma Inc.; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; GlaxoSmithKline K. K.; Shionogi & Co.; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.; Jansen Pharmaceutical K. K.; Pfizer Japan Inc.; MSD K. K.; Yoshitomiyakuhin Corporation; Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.; Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd.; Tsumura & Co.; AbbVie; Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and Eli Lilly Japan K. K.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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So, R., Makino, K., Fujiwara, M. et al. The Prevalence of Internet Addiction Among a Japanese Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic Sample With Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 2217–2224 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3148-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3148-7

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