Risk and protective factor profiles predict addictive behavior among adolescents

Background and aims

Internet gaming disorder (IGD), compulsive sexual behavior (CSB), and problematic social network usage (PSNU) are prevalent disorders among adolescents. Research indicates an increase in the number of adolescents engaging in daily gaming, sex, and the use of social networks, as well as an increase in the number of adolescents diagnosed with these disorders. The current study aims to detect unique profiles of risk and protective factors and examine whether these profiles could explain the different severities of IGD, CSB, and PSNU among adolescents.

Method

The sample comprised 544 Jewish Israeli adolescents from the general community (age 14–18), who were asked about risk (childhood adversity, childhood trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress, self-concealment, internalized stigma) and protective (parent-adolescent communication,) factors and addictive behaviors (IGD, CSB, and PSNU).

Results

Adolescents were classified into three different clusters based on their risk and protective factors: “at risk” (n = 48, 8.82%), “moderate” (n = 400, 73.53%), and “resilient” (n = 96, 17.65%). The “at risk” group had significantly greater severity of addictive behaviors (IGD, CSB, and PSNU) than did the “moderate” or “resilient” groups, and the “moderate” group had significantly greater severity of addictive behaviors than the “resilient” group.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the fact that protective and risk factor profiles are highly indicative of various addictive behaviors among adolescents. The current research expands knowledge about addictive behaviors by providing a more individualized approach to understanding addictive behaviors among adolescents.