Internet Addiction and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): integrative review of the literature

ABSTRACT Objective To perform an integrative review of the possible relationship between internet addiction (ID) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Also to gather informations in these studies for a more efficient diagnosis of DI. Methods Integrative review of the literature in three databases: PsycINFO, Scopus and Cinahal, with the following terms: “internet addiction”, “adolescent” and “attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity”, 2007-2017, with information about the relationship between Internet addiction and ADHD. Results The sample consisted of 12 original articles, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. From their analysis, the following categories emerged: Relationship between ID and ADHD; Other factors associated with ID; Instruments for evaluation of ID and incidence data. There is a lack of defined criteria for diagnosis of internet addiction, and four instruments were identified to measure ID, all questionnaires were completed by the adolescents themselves, with rates ranging from 2.4% to 10.6%. Anxiety and depression disorders were the most cited comorbidities after ADHD in the adolescents diagnosed with ID. Conclusions There are evidences of an important association between the two identified disorders, however without conclusive results on the interaction process. In order to establish therapeutic interventions and strategies to prevent the problem, it is necessary to advance research on the definition of the diagnostic criteria of ID, prevalence rates and predictors of the problem.