The Relationship Between Home Internet Use, Familial Characteristics, and Clinical Severity in ADHD Youth
Öz
Background: This study aimed to examine the relationship between home internet use habits, familial sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical disease severity in children and adolescents diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Materials and Methods: This retrospective and descriptive study included 81 children and adolescents with ADHD aged 6-17 years who were followed at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic of Balıkesir City Hospital between 2023 and 2025. Clinical severity was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scale. Digital life variables, including age at first internet use, daily internet and gaming duration, device ownership, and household internet rules, together with familial sociodemographic characteristics, were evaluated. Pearson correlation analyses were performed in the full sample, and independent predictors of CGI-S scores were subsequently examined using a three-step hierarchical multiple linear regression model conducted in treatment-naïve participants.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 9.77±3.00 years, and 70.4% were male. The mean age at first internet use was 5.97±2.64 years. CGI-S scores were significantly associated with paternal age, paternal daily internet use duration, and age at tablet acquisition. In hierarchical regression analyses performed in treatment-naïve participants, the inclusion of digital life variables increased the explained variance to 59.5%. Paternal daily internet use emerged as the strongest independent predictor of CGI-S scores (β=0.572, p=0.001).
Conclusions: Clinician-rated clinical severity in children and adolescents with ADHD is associated not only with individual characteristics but also with home-based digital life habits and parental digital behaviors, underscoring the importance of evaluating family digital life characteristics during the clinical assessment and management of children and adolescents with ADHD.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Destekleyen Kurum
Etik Beyan
Teşekkür
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Çocuk ve Ergen Ruh Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Erken Görünüm Tarihi
11 Eylül 2026
Yayımlanma Tarihi
-
Gönderilme Tarihi
3 Şubat 2026
Kabul Tarihi
23 Temmuz 2026
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2026 Sayı: Advanced Online Publication