Symposium
Session Room: Alsh
Session Room: Alsh
Saturday, June 27, 05:40 PM – 06:55 PM
Symposium 20:
Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) – Advances in Diagnosis, Mechanisms, Treatment and Healthcare Policy
Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) – Advances in Diagnosis, Mechanisms, Treatment and Healthcare Policy
In response to growing global concern about problematic usage of the internet (PUI) and its public mental health and societal costs, including harmful effects on young people, this session, provides an update on advances made in the field of PUI, in terms of nosology, biopsychosocial mechanisms, interventions services and policy initiatives. A key advance has been achieving consensus on the clinical definition of various forms of PUI. Based on the public health principle of protecting individuals and the public from harm, the World Health Organisation has introduced several new diagnoses into the ICD-11, including gambling disorder, gaming disorder, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder, and other unspecified or specified disorders due to addictive behaviours, and has named online activity as a diagnostic specifier. These definitions provide a platform for developing systematic networked research into various forms of PUI at global scale. Progress has also been made in areas such as assessment, identification of underpinning brain-based, cognitive and social determinants, establishment of empirically based etiological models as a basis for preventative and therapeutic intervention, and public engagement.
Dr Matthias Brand (Duisburg, Germany) will critique the emerging nosology of PUI. He will present the preliminary results of Bootstrap (Boosting Societal Adaptation and Mental Health in a Rapidly Digitalizing, Post-Pandemic Europe | Bootstrap | Project | Fact Sheet | HORIZON | CORDIS | European Commission) - a multinational longitudinal cohort study of >1,800 12-16y schoolchildren, co-designed with public stakeholders, whose online activity and developmental, health and wellbeing indices are continually monitored via their smartphones. Around 40% (majority female) showed evidence of risk for PUI, with associated negative impact on mental health and wellbeing. Social media use difficulties were prevalent. Mechanistic modelling suggests PUI derives from an interaction between the person, their cognitive (including impulsive and compulsive executive functioning) and affective status and the environment (1). This explains in part why young people, whose cognitive-affective functioning is still maturing, are so susceptible and provides a rational basis for the development of tailored interventions.
Dr Jeremy Solly (ECS, Hertfordshire, UK) will present evidence from meta-analysis of translational markers of PUI as potential interventional targets (2) and of randomised controlled trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments showing promise of efficacy in PUI (3). Surveys of clinical services across different countries reveal psychotherapeutic approaches are currently the most widely available forms of treatment, but education and training for practitioners is often insufficient.
Dr Sophia Achab (Geneva, Switzerland) will present the health and social care policy recommendations of the current Lancet Psychiatry Commission Global Action on PUI based on an evaluation of research evidence pertaining to individual, and societal (including commercial) risk factors for PUI (4, 5). The need for feasible prevention, mitigation and treatment approaches including safety by design standards as applied to digital technology, ethical regulatory approaches limiting unsafe access that adequately safeguard young people and other vulnerable groups and protect their digital human rights, consumer protection against harms from online products and development of age appropriate clinical services for those affected will be discussed.
Dr Matthias Brand (Duisburg, Germany) will critique the emerging nosology of PUI. He will present the preliminary results of Bootstrap (Boosting Societal Adaptation and Mental Health in a Rapidly Digitalizing, Post-Pandemic Europe | Bootstrap | Project | Fact Sheet | HORIZON | CORDIS | European Commission) - a multinational longitudinal cohort study of >1,800 12-16y schoolchildren, co-designed with public stakeholders, whose online activity and developmental, health and wellbeing indices are continually monitored via their smartphones. Around 40% (majority female) showed evidence of risk for PUI, with associated negative impact on mental health and wellbeing. Social media use difficulties were prevalent. Mechanistic modelling suggests PUI derives from an interaction between the person, their cognitive (including impulsive and compulsive executive functioning) and affective status and the environment (1). This explains in part why young people, whose cognitive-affective functioning is still maturing, are so susceptible and provides a rational basis for the development of tailored interventions.
Dr Jeremy Solly (ECS, Hertfordshire, UK) will present evidence from meta-analysis of translational markers of PUI as potential interventional targets (2) and of randomised controlled trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments showing promise of efficacy in PUI (3). Surveys of clinical services across different countries reveal psychotherapeutic approaches are currently the most widely available forms of treatment, but education and training for practitioners is often insufficient.
Dr Sophia Achab (Geneva, Switzerland) will present the health and social care policy recommendations of the current Lancet Psychiatry Commission Global Action on PUI based on an evaluation of research evidence pertaining to individual, and societal (including commercial) risk factors for PUI (4, 5). The need for feasible prevention, mitigation and treatment approaches including safety by design standards as applied to digital technology, ethical regulatory approaches limiting unsafe access that adequately safeguard young people and other vulnerable groups and protect their digital human rights, consumer protection against harms from online products and development of age appropriate clinical services for those affected will be discussed.
05:40 PM – 06:05 PM
25 min
25 min