increased internet use at the community level and schizophrenic personality disorders in adults

increased internet use at the community level and schizophrenic personality disorders in adults

although there are negative and unrealistic beliefs and displays about schizophrenia, it is manageable and a person with schizophrenia can live as a member of society. iranian banner schizophrenia card (schizophrenia, youthful madness or psychosis) is a complex mental illness that affects the way you think, feel, behave and communicate with others. it affects both men and women, but is slightly more common in men. the first episode usually occurs in late adolescence until the early third decade of life.

men usually start the disease earlier than women. of course, people may also get the disease later in life. the prevalence of schizophrenia in the community is about one percent. in the past decade, the use of the internet as a forum for communication has exponentially increased, and research indicates that excessive use is associated with psychiatric symptoms. the present study examined the rate of internet use in adolescents with personality disorders, with a focus on schizotypal personality disorder (spd), which is characterized by marked interpersonal deficits.

because the internet provides an easily accessible forum for anonymous social interaction and constitutes an environment where communication is less likely to be hampered by interpersonal deficits, it was hypothesized that spd youth will spend significantly more time engaging in social activities on the internet than controls.

methods: self-reports of daily internet use in adolescents with spd (n = 19), a control group with other personality disorders (n = 22) and a non-psychiatric control group (n = 28) were collected. results: analyses revealed that the spd participants reported significantly less social interaction with ‘real-life’ friends, but used the internet for social interaction significantly more frequently than controls. chat room participation, cooperative internet gaming, and to a lesser degree, email use, were positively correlated with ratings of spd symptom severity and beck depression inventory scores. discussion: findings are discussed in light of the potential benefits and risks associated with internet use by socially isolated spd youth.