Internet Addiction in Children and Adolescents

by Dr. Kimberly S. Young PsyD (Editor), Dr. Nabuco De Abreu Cristiano PhD (Editor)

This is the first book to thoroughly examine how early and easy access to the Internet and digital technologies impacts children and adolescents. Experts in the field examine the research that shows the social, cognitive, developmental, and academic problems that can result when children spend excessive time in front of screens. As a whole, the book provides an invaluable resource for those who need to assess, treat, and prevent Internet addiction in children and adolescents.


Internet Addiction in Children and Adolescents:

Provides tools that help predict a child's level of risk for media-related problems.
Examines how to diagnose and differentiate Internet addiction from other psychiatric conditions.
Explores evidence-based treatment approaches and how to distinguish pathology from normal development.
Shows how to create inpatient treatment programs and therapies to address media addiction.
Highlights the psychological, social, and family conditions for those most at risk.
Evaluates the effects of the excessive use of electronic games and the Internet on brain development.
Explores the physical risks that result from excessive media use and strategies for combating the problem.
Examines school-based initiatives that employ policies and procedures designed to increase awareness of excessive media use and help educators identify students who misuse technology, and that provide strategies of intervention and communication with parents.
Identifies signs of problem Internet behavior such as aggressive behavior, lying about screen use, and a preference for screen time over social interactions.
Outlines the risk factors for developing Internet addiction.
Provides strategies for treatment and prevention in family, school, and community settings.

Practitioners and researchers in psychology, social work, school counseling, child and family therapy, and nursing will appreciate this book's thorough review of Internet addiction among children and adolescents. The book also serves as an engaging supplement in courses on media psychology, addiction counseling, abnormal psychology, school counseling, social issues, and more.

About the Author
Kimberly S. Young, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist and an internationally known expert on Internet addiction. She founded the Center for Internet Addiction in 1995 and is a professor at St. Bonaventure University. She has published numerous articles and books, including Caught in the Net, the first to identify Internet addiction; Tangled in the Web; Breaking Free of the Web; and, with Dr. Nabuco de Abreu, Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, London Times, USA Today, Newsweek, and Time, and in media outlets that include CNN, CBS News, Fox News, Good Morning America, and ABC's World News Tonight. She received the Psychology in the Media Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association and the Alumni Ambassador Award for Outstanding Achievement from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She serves on the advisory board for The Internet Group in Toronto and the Japanese Ministry for the prevention and treatment of Internet addiction. She has testified for the Child Online Protection Act Congressional Commission and has been a keynote speaker at the European Union of Health and Medicine; the International Conference on Digital Culture in Seoul, Korea; the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania; and the First International Congress on Internet Addiction Disorders in Milan, Italy. She also served on the National Academy of Sciences panel for the Digital Media and Developing Minds colloquia.