Internet addiction (IA) has become a major public health problem among college students. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-identity confusion and IA and the mediating effects of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance (PI/EA) indicators in college students. A total of 500 college students (262 women and 238 men) were recruited. Their levels of self-identity were evaluated using the Self-Concept and Identity Measure. Their levels of PI/EA were examined using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. The severity of IA was assessed using the Chen Internet Addiction Scale. The relationships among self- identity, PI/EA, and IA were examined using structural equation modeling. The severity of self-identity confusion was positively associated with both the severity of PI/EA and the severity of IA. In addition, the severity of PI/EA indicators was positively associated with the severity of IA. These results demonstrated that the severity of self-identity confusion was related to the severity of IA, either directly or indirectly. The indirect relationship was mediated by the severity of PI/EA. Self-identity confusion and PI/EA should be taken into consideration by the community of professionals working on IA. Early detection and intervention of self-identity confusion and PI/EA should be the objectives for programs aiming to lower the risk of IA.

This cross-sectional questionnaire study examined factors related to affiliate stigma among caregivers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the association of affiliate stigma with caregivers’ unfavorable attitude toward ADHD and moderators. The affiliate stigma of 400 caregivers of children with ADHD was assessed using the Affiliate Stigma Scale. Caregivers’ and children’s factors related to affiliate stigma were examined using multiple regression analysis. Associations of affiliate stigma with caregivers’ unfavorable attitudes toward children’s diagnoses, pharmacotherapy, behavioral therapy, and biological explanations of the etiologies of ADHD were examined using logistic regression analysis. Female caregivers and those caring for girls with ADHD had higher levels of affiliate stigma than did male caregivers and those caring for boys. Higher education levels in caregivers and more severe inattention symptoms in children were associated with higher levels of affiliate stigma. A higher level of affiliate stigma was also significantly associated with unfavorable attitudes toward children’s diagnoses, pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy, and etiological explanations for ADHD. Multiple factors of caregivers and children were related to affiliate stigma in caregivers of children with ADHD. Affiliate stigma is significantly associated with caregivers’ unfavorable attitude toward ADHD.

This prospective study evaluated the predictive effect of difficulty in emotion regulation on the occurrence and remission of Internet addiction (IA) and determined whether IA has a role in changing emotion regulation among college students during a follow-up period of 1 year. A total of 500 college students (262 women and 238 men) were recruited. In baseline and follow-up investigations, the levels of IA and difficulty in emotion regulation were evaluated using the Chen Internet Addiction Scale and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), respectively. The results indicated that the subscale of impulse control difficulties on the DERS predicted the incidence of IA during the follow-up period of 1 year in male participants (t = −2.875, p = 0.005), whereas no subscale on the DERS predicted the remission of IA. IA did not predict the change in difficulties in emotion regulation. The subscale of impulse control difficulties on the DERS predicted the occurrence of IA in the college students and warrants early intervention.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are commonly comorbid with allergic and autoimmune diseases in children. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between children’s and first-degree relatives’ (i.e., mother, father, and full sibling) allergic and autoimmune diseases and children’s ASD and ADHD. We enrolled participants from Taiwan’s Maternal and Child Health Database. We used the Cox regression model to examine the associations of familial, siblings’ and children’s allergic and autoimmune diseases with children’s ASD and/or ADHD. In total, we included 1,386,260 children in the current study. We found the significant association between familial allergic or autoimmune disease and development of ASD or ADHD among children. We also identified the predominant impact of familial aggregation on the above associations. The associations between some parental diagnoses of autoimmune or allergic diseases in children’s ASD and/or ADHD were stronger in mothers than those in fathers. Early assessment of the possibility of ASD and ADHD is required for children who have a parent with an allergic or autoimmune disease.

The aim of the study was to determine the predictive effects of sex, age, depression, and problematic behaviors on the incidence and remission of internet addiction (IA) in college students over a one-year follow-up. A total of 500 college students (262 women and 238 men) were recruited. The predictive effects of sex, age, severity of depression, self-harm/suicidal behaviors, eating problems, risk-taking behaviors, substance use, aggression, and uncontrollable sexual encounters on the incidence and remission of IA over a one-year follow-up were examined. The one-year incidence and remission rates for IA were 7.5% and 46.4%, respectively. Severity of depression, self-harm and suicidal behaviors, and uncontrollable sexual encounters at the initial investigation predicted the incidence of IA in a univariate analysis, whereas only severity of depression predicted the incidence of IA in a multivariable logistic regression (p = 0.015, odds ratio = 1.105, 95% confidence intervals: 1.021–1.196). A relatively young age predicted the remission of IA. Depression and young age predicted the incidence and remission, respectively, of IA in college students in the one-year follow-up.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of self-reported and parent-reported bullying victimization, perpetration, and victimization-perpetration and the associations of autistic social impairment and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms with bullying involvement in adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 219 adolescents with high functioning ASD participated in this study. The associations of sociodemographic characteristics, parent-reported autistic social impairment, and parent-reported ADHD and ODD symptoms with self-reported and parent-reported bullying victimization, perpetration, and victimization-perpetration were examined using logistic regression analysis. The results found that the agreement between self-reported and parent-reported bullying involvement was low. Compared with bullying involvement experiences reported by adolescents themselves, parents reported higher rates of pure bullying victimization (23.7% vs. 17.8%) and victimization-perpetration (28.8% vs. 9.1%) but a lower rate of pure bullying perpetration (5.9% vs. 9.1%). Deficit in socio-communication increases the risk of being pure victims and victim-perpetrators. Parent-reported victim-perpetrators had more severe ODD symptoms than did parent-reported pure victims.