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Internet communication of outpatients with A sperger's disorder or schizophrenia in J apan
Author(s) -
Watabe Takashi,
Suzuki Kunifumi
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
asia‐pacific psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1758-5872
pISSN - 1758-5864
DOI - 10.1111/appy.12108
Subject(s) - the internet , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychology , psychiatry , internet users , psychosis , internet privacy , face (sociological concept) , advertising , clinical psychology , computer science , world wide web , business , social science , sociology
There is insufficient information about the Internet usage of psychiatric patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the usage of Internet communication among subjects with A sperger's disorder ( AD ) or schizophrenia. Methods A questionnaire survey was carried out in J apan among 29 outpatients with AD , 32 outpatients with schizophrenia, and 97 age‐matched normal volunteers. This study limited the participants to young male adults (20‐ to 39‐year‐olds) using the Internet. Results People with a diagnosis of AD prefer personal computers to mobile phones as their Internet terminal, have an inclination to use anonymous media, and tend to think that they can communicate more correctly through the Internet than face‐to‐face communication. People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia employ the Internet to a degree almost similar to controls, and tend to rely on unknown persons, but also sometimes feel hurt when communicating on the Internet. Moreover, their sensitivity to the risks of the Internet tends to decrease with the aggravation of their psychotic symptoms. Discussion It may be important to pay attention to the excessive use of some limited media by people with a diagnosis of AD . Providing people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia with sufficient information about the risks of the Internet is also important.