Comments on: Internet Addiction Research Disappointing

By: Grand Rounds 5.14 Holiday Edition | Highlight HEALTH

Grand Rounds 5.14 Holiday Edition | Highlight HEALTH — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:16:50 +0000

[...] A recent study reported the results of a meta-analysis of experimental studies on Internet addiction published in academic journals from 1996 — 2006, assessing how Internet addiction has been measured and analyzing the degree of association between variables [2]. Dr. Walter W. van den Broek finds Internet Addiction Research Disappointing. [...]

By: Digital Divide in Internet Addiction? | Dr Shock MD PhD

Digital Divide in Internet Addiction? | Dr Shock MD PhD — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:41:30 +0000

[...] More information on the non existent diagnosis of Internet addiction can be found on this blog in Internet Addiction Research Disappointing [...]

By: Weekly Noggin Raisers #2 « N e u r o n a r r a t i v e

Weekly Noggin Raisers #2 « N e u r o n a r r a t i v e — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:02:18 +0000

[...] Hacks and Dr. Shock both handily took on the debatable concept of Internet [...]

By: Dr Benway

Dr Benway — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:57:43 +0000

My favorite comment on this issue comes from The Last Psychiatrist, who says we ought to put Internet Addiction into the DSM-V "...And then let's rename the DSM The Book of Fantastikal Magickal Pixies and incorporate it into the Monster Manual."

By: Dr Shock

Dr Shock — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:25:33 +0000

Yes Yes please do, makes me feel less lonely.
Regards Dr shock

By: Full House

Full House — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:03:23 +0000

“The problem is that a lot of money has been spent on research and pr before decent research contradicts the easy scores.”

Don’t get me started.

By: Dr Shock

Dr Shock — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:16:07 +0000

We did some research on depression in patients with liver disease because it was suspected a lot of them suffered from depression. Using a severity scale a lot of them scored high, using a diagnostic scale with clinician interview they didn’t suffer from depression but their liver disease. The problem is that a lot of money has been spent on research and pr before decent research contradicts the easy scores.

By: Full House

Full House — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:28:54 +0000

“This is also the trouble with research for depression in the medical ill patients. If someone is severely ill and you use an Hamilton Depression Rating Scale they will almost all have high scores not because they are depressed but because the feel horrible due to their somatic illness.”

I have always been sceptical of the reliability of diagnosing protocols for various mental disorders in people who have significant underlying medical problems, particularly chronic ones, and especially those with the so called ‘functional somatic disorders’ (patients supposedly without any relevant physical pathology).

I find most checklist type assessments of mental health disturbingly superficial and prone to serious error, including some of the supposedly validated tests. Validation typically consist of quite circular, definition based reasoning. A good example would be the SPHERE test, which claims to be able to discriminate people with various forms of somatisation disorder from the healthy, by more-or-less simply re-attributing causation of various common and unexplained physical symptoms to psycho-social forces. Not convinced myself.

Also still waiting for the epidemics of mass hysteria caused by the internet that some senior psychs have long predicted.

If I put my cynical hat on, I would have to say that a lot of this stuff sounds like empire building and work creation schemes for the psych profession.