Abnormal Psychology - Essay Example

Abnormal Psychology People with internet addiction solely have no social life as their life revolves around the internet. They spend almost all their free time and others all their lives engaging in sexual relations and other sexual preoccupations, sending messages to others over the internet as well as participating excessively in games online. All these are carried out at the expense of other activities of importance in their lives.The evidence collected was from several neurocognitive tests conducted on the task of gambling.

The performance according to the BART test indicated that internet addicted students performed better and made better decisions that those addicted on other substances and hence were more likely not to be involved in behaviors involving taking risks and were also less likely to be dependent (Weinstein and Michel 280). Internet addiction is a way to cope with stress for some children which is different from how others cope with it. For those with problems with their social life, internet is the best way to make relationships, gain self-confidence and even attract social support from the other internet addicts as well.

There are others who have problem with their identity among other psychological problems and they use the internet as a coping strategy. The other category of people becomes addicted to the internet simply because they use it as an outlet for their sexual maladaptive behavior. This is a study that is likely to take place in the future but not in the present times. It has not yet taken place but there are plans to have it take place in the future. The two most significant predictors according to research in Taiwan and South Korea were alcohol-related of wither the adolescent under study or of close siblings as well as problems or dissatisfaction with their families.

These were the predictors because they led to these adolescents trying to find coping strategies from this stress and it leads to internet addiction. There are several treatments that have been tested and show early evidence of working. These include an initiated abstinence program for pupils between 12-15 years in Austria. In Hong Kong, there is a counseling program as well. Cognitive behavioral therapy has also been seen to work in enabling the internet addicts manage their symptoms. For the older addicts, family and marital therapy has also been seen to work in selected cases.

People addicted to the internet show high comorbidity with those who have ADHD as well as OCD. This involves in issues such as mood disorders, high levels of anxiety, showing symptoms of depression as well as suicide. These are the exact same symptoms elicited by those with ADHD and OCD. Any treatments made for those with these disorders can therefore be used for those with internet addiction (Weinstein and Michel 279). I do not agree. Internet addiction is rising worldwide more than even the substance addition and hence critical measures to deal and curb this addiction should be laid down for the therapists who are working with such addicts.

At the moment, they have no clear guidelines on diagnosis or treatment and this does not help when it comes to handling such patients. Information on how long the person should have been eliciting the symptoms of the addiction is very necessary to be determined. Clear symptoms should also be provided in order to make the diagnosis similar and be distinguished from other conditions. Work CitedWeinstein, Aviv and Michel Lejoyeux. “Internet Addiction or Excessive Internet Use.” The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36: 277-283, 2010.