The World Health Organisation has included two disorders due to addictive behaviour in the ICD-11, which can be specified as predominantly online disorders: Gambling Disorder and Computer Gaming Disorder. Other potentially problematic online behaviours are discussed both academically and socially, in particular problematic social networking, pornography use and problematic shopping behaviour. Problematic pornography use is included in the ICD-11 under the diagnosis "compulsive sexual behaviour disorder" (which is classified as an impulse control disorder), while shopping disorder is an example of "other specified impulse control disorders". Taking meta-criteria into account, we consider the following specific Internet use disorders (INS) equally as disorders due to addictive behaviour, predominantly online: Computer Gaming Disorder, Pornography Use Disorder, Buying-Shopping Disorder, and Social Networking Use Disorder.

These will also take centre stage in the second funding period of FOR2974. The mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of specific INS are still unclear. FOR 2974 aims to better understand the affective and cognitive mechanisms as well as the neurobiological correlates of specific INS. In doing so, we continue to refer to the I-PACE (Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution) model as an important theoretical framework to investigate the involvement of theoretically based (bio-)psychological processes in the development and maintenance of the above-mentioned INS. In the second funding period, we will (again) conduct a cross-sectional comparison of individuals with unproblematic use, risky use and pathological use of certain Internet applications as well as a six-month follow-up. In addition, we plan to re-recruit approximately 50% of the FOR 2974 cohort from the first funding period to conduct a three-year longitudinal study looking at possible changes in affective and cognitive mechanisms over the course of INS. 


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A central feature of FOR2974 is the study of over 1,200 participants at multiple sites using the same core battery of experimental paradigms, neuropsychological tasks, questionnaires, biomarkers and a follow-up survey. The architecture of the proposed research projects ranges from basic processes to ecological aspects and clinical application. This allows us to contribute to a better scientific understanding of the psychological processes of INS. Furthermore, the proof-of-concept studies contribute to clinical application by showing which affective and cognitive mechanisms should be addressed more intensively to optimise treatment.

Projectnumber 411232260

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has extended the research group (FOR 2974) "Affective and Cognitive Mechanisms of Specific Internet-use Disorders" (ACSID). A further funding period of three years with a volume of around five million euros has been approved.

Prof. Matthias Brand is the spokesperson for the transregional research group, in which we have been investigating the psychological and neurobiological processes that underlie specific forms of addictive Internet use for the past three years. In addition to gaming disorder, which is already recognized as a mental disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO), excessive shopping, pornography consumption and the problematic use of social networks are also being addressed in ten different sub-projects. Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen are working together with colleagues from the Universities of Bochum, Bamberg, Giessen, Mainz, Lübeck and Hannover Medical School.

Press article:

https://www.dfg.de/de/service/presse/pressemitteilungen/2024/pressemitteilung-nr-11  
https://www.uni-due.de/2024-03-25-dfg-foerdert-forschung-zu-internetsucht-weiter