ÖZGÜN ARAŞTIRMA ORIGINAL RESEARCH Med J SDU / SDÜ Tıp Fak Derg u 2021:28(2):255-262 doi: 10.17343/sdutfd.757320 THE EVALUATION OF INTERNET USAGE HABITS AND POSSIBLE INTERNET ADDICTION AND CYBERBULLYING-VICTIMIZATION LEVELS OF SELF-DESTRUCTIVE ADOLESCENTS KENDİNE ZARAR VEREN ERGENLERİN İNTERNET KULLANIM ALIŞKANLIKLARI İLE OLASI İNTERNET BAĞIMLILIĞI VE SİBER ZORBALIK-MAĞDURİYET DÜZEYLERİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ Evrim AKTEPE1, Orhan KOCAMAN2, Funda ÖZYAY EROĞLU3, Emel ÖZEN4, Yonca SÖNMEZ5, Yüksel EROĞLU6 1 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Suleyman Demirel University, ISPARTA 2 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Kutahya Evliya Celebi Research and Training Hospital, KUTAHYA 3 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Mehmet Akif Inan Research and Training Hospital, SANLIURFA 4 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Isparta State Hospital, ISPARTA 5 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, ANTALYA 6 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, Bayburt University, BAYBURT Cite this article as: Aktepe E, Kocaman O, Özyay Eroğlu F, Özen E, Sönmez Y, Eroğlu Y. The Evaluation of Internet Usage Habits and Possible Internet Addiction and Cyberbullying-Victimization Levels of Self-Destructive Adolescents Med J SDU 2021; 28(2): 255-262. Öz Bulgular Olgu grubunun sosyal paylaşım sitelerini, sohbet oda- Amaç larını, alışveriş sitelerini ve anlık mesajlaşmayı sağ- Bu çalışma kendine zarar verme davranışında bu- layan siteleri anlamlı oranda daha fazla kullandıkları lunan ergenlerin internet kullanım alışkanlıklarını ve saptanmıştır.. Olgu grubunun interneti anlamlı oranda olası internet bağımlılığı ile siber zorbalık-mağduriyet daha fazla iletişim kurmak için kullandığı ve anlamlı düzeylerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır. oranda daha fazla haftanın her günü internete girdik- leri belirlenmiştir. Grupların siber mağdur ve zorbalık Gereç ve Yöntem ölçeği toplam puanları ve alt ölçek puanlarına bakıl- Bu bir olgu kontrol çalışmasıydı. Bu çalışma “kendine dığında olgu grubunun anlamlı oranda daha yüksek zarar veren ergenler” (n = 103) ve “Kontrol” (n = 103) puanlar aldıkları belirlenmiştir. Olgu grubunun anlamlı olmak üzere iki grup altında incelenen 14-18 yaşları oranda daha fazla olası internet bağımlısı oldukları ve arasındaki toplam 206 ergeni kapsamaktadır. Polik- anlamlı oranda daha fazla riskli internet davranışları liniğimize başvuran 14-18 yaş arası ergenlere Ken- sergiledikleri bulunmuştur. dine Zarar Verme Davranışı Anketi uygulandı. Daha sonra her iki gruba İnternet Kullanım Formu, İnternet Sonuç Bağımlılığı Envanteri ve Siber Mağdur ve Zorbalık Öl- Çalışmamızdaki kendine zarar veren ergenlerin in- çeği (CVBS) uygulandı. terneti riskli şekilde kullanmaları ve internet bağım- İletişim kurulacak yazar/Corresponding author: [email protected] Müracaat tarihi/Application Date: 24.06.2020 • Kabul tarihi/Accepted Date: 13.08.2020 ORCID IDs of the authors: E.A. 0000-0002-3082-4428; O.K. 0000-0002-7504-5604; F.Ö.E. 0000-0002-4079-1009; E.Ö. 0000-0001-5064-7353; Y.S. 0000-0001-8059-7975; Y.E. 0000-0002-0028-0327 t 255 Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi The Evaluation of Internet Usage Habits of Self-Destructive Adolescents lılığı açısından risk altında olmaları bu grubun sanal administered to both groups. dünyadaki tehlikelere açık bir grup olduğunu göster- mektedir. Bu durum göz önüne alındığında ergen ruh Results sağlığı polikliniklerinde değerlendirilen kendine zarar The case group was found to use significantly more veren ergenlerin internet kullanım özelliklerinin sorgu- social networking sites, chatrooms, shopping websi- lanması koruyucu bir yaklaşım olacaktır. tes, and instant messaging sites. The case group was determined to use the internet significantly more to Anahtar Kelimeler: İnternet, ergen, bağımlılık establish communication and to access the internet significantly more every day. When the total scores Abstract and subscale scores of CVBS of the groups were examined, the case group was determined to have Objective significantly higher scores. The case group was found This study aimed to evaluate internet usage habits to be significantly more possible internet addicts and and possible internet addiction and the cyberbull- to display significantly more risky internet behaviors. ying-victimization levels of adolescents who were found to engage in self-destructive behaviors. Conclusions The self-destructive adolescents in our study who Material and Methods use the internet in risky ways and are at risk for in- This was a case-control study. This study included ternet addiction show that this group is vulnerable to a total of 206 adolescents between 14 and 18 years the dangers of the virtual world. Taking this into con- and they were examined under two groups as ‘sel- sideration, examining the internet usage habits of sel- f-destructive adolescents’ (n= 103) and ‘Control’ (n= f-destructive adolescents who are assessed in Ado- 103). The Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ) lescent Mental Health Clinics would be a preventive was administered to 14- to 18-year-old adolescents approach. admitted to our outpatient clinic. Then The Internet Usage Form (IUF), Internet Addiction Inventory (IAI), Keywords: Internet, adolescent, addiction and Cyber Victim and Bullying Scale (CVBS) were Introduction via social interactions, the addictive effect increases (8). It is reported that young people who are risky and With the possibilities provided by the use of the in- pathological internet users have a higher frequency ternet, problematic human behaviors have emerged, of injuring themselves and that internet addiction is and the negative consequences of the internet are associated with increased SIB risk (9, 10). now a matter of debate. Examples of such behavior are harming other people in online settings, the mis- According to our knowledge, the relationship between use of personal information, being subjected to sex- cyberbullying and cybervictimization levels in adoles- ual/verbal harassment, receiving hateful messages, cents with SIB has not been investigated until today. cyberbullying, internet addiction etc (1-4). This study aims to evaluate internet usage habits and possible internet addiction and the cyberbullying-vic- Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a direct and voluntary timization levels of adolescents compared with a con- self-injuring behavior conducted once, occasionally, trol group. or repeatedly without the intention of death, causing tissue damage in varying degrees (5). It is reported Material and Methods that adolescents with SIB use the internet differently, for longer periods, and for social communication pur- Procedure poses. They are reported to make use of chatrooms This was a case-control study. The case group was and close online relationships more intensely, exhibit- formed by 103 self-destructive adolescents taken ing risky internet behavior more often (6,7). Risky in- from 14- to 18-year-old adolescents who were admit- ternet behavior includes sharing personal information ted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient on the internet, visiting websites that humiliate certain Clinic o fa University Hospital during in a-one-year groups, and contacting/meeting in person people met period. The control group was formed by 103 ado- on the internet (3). Online friends met via the internet lescents who were admitted to the General Pediat- may lead online sexuality. When the internet is used ric Outpatient Clinic of a University Hospital but were 256 t Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dergisi assessed through an Inventory of Statements About ence of internet usage at home. The literature has Self-injury (ISAS) not to have injured themselves, and been scanned by the authors with a view to identi- also had no psychiatric treatment or chronic disease fy risky internet behaviors, and the following behav- diagnosis in their past medical history and no fami- iors are considered risky internet behaviors: Offering ly history of psychiatric treatment. The first section of to meet in person with people met online, meeting the ISAS was administered to 14- to 18-year-old ad- in person with people met via online chats, making olescents admitted to our outpatient clinic. Their SIB friends in chat rooms with strangers, sharing personal and its frequency as well as defining and structural information through the internet, visiting websites to features of the behaviors were identified. After that, humiliate certain groups, and entering chat rooms in- The Internet Usage Form, Internet Addiction Scale tended for adults (3,13). (IAS), and Cyber Victim and Bullying Scale (CVBS) were applied to both groups. The case and control Internet Addiction Scale: The scale was developed by groups are similar in terms of distribution of gender Nichols&Nicki (14), and its validity and reliability test and age. Adolescents with diagnoses of psychotic was carried out in Turkey by Canan et al. (15) on 14- disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, or mental to 19-year-old Turkish youngsters. IAS is the 5-point retardation were excluded from the study. The study likert-type scale with 31 questions and a single factor. ethics committee approval was obtained from Süley- It is aimed at identifying individuals that face internet man Demirel University Medical Faculty Clinical Re- addiction risk based on the diagnosis criteria suggest- search Ethics Committee. Our work was suitable for ed by Griffiths (16). In the test conducted