Sadness, suicide, and their association with video game and internet overuse among teens: Results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2007 and 2009

Erick Messias, Juan Castro, Anil Saini, Manzoor Usman, Dale Peeples

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

114 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the association between excessive video game/Internet use and teen suicidality. Data were obtained from the 2007 and 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a high school-based, nationally representative survey (N = 14,041 and N = 16,410, respectively). Teens who reported 5 hours or more of video games/Internet daily use, in the 2009 YRBS, had a significantly higher risk for sadness (adjusted and weighted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval = 2.1, 1.7-2.5), suicidal ideation (1.7, 1.3-2.1), and suicide planning (1.5, 1.1-1.9). The same pattern was found in the 2007 survey. These findings support an association between excessive video game and Internet use and risk for teen depression and suicidality.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)307-315
Number of pages9
JournalSuicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
Volume41
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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