Is Internet Addiction Prevalent Among Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patients? Data from Las Vegas and Tel Aviv

Abstract

Internet addiction is known to be associated with depression. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) for depression were studied among non-selective methadone maintenance treatment patients from the United States (n = 164) and Israel (n = 113). Thirty percent were not exposed to the internet, and 2.9% (n = 8) had an “occasional/frequent problem.” The IAT and CES-D scores correlated significantly (p = .03). The non-exposed group was older, less educated, and had more benzodiazepine abusers. Unlike other behavioral addictions that characterized these patients, the internet addiction problem is rare, but should not be ignored.

KEYWORDS:

• Methadone maintenance treatment
• internet addiction
• depression
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank Esther Eshkol for editing the English in this article.

FUNDING

The study was funded by the Adelson Family Foundation.