Problematic internet use in adolescents has been shown to significantly increase over the past few years, with COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns reinforcing this phenomena globally. We sought to explore whether problematic internet use in specific countries was related to emotional well-being and importantly whether this is predicted by psychological distress. There is a growing number of studies showing that problematic internet use is increasingly prevalent in countries with emerging economies, however we have yet to find out to what extent other factors are influencing this behaviour in adolescents and young people. This study invited young people from countries such India, Mexico, Philippines and Turkey to complete a set of self-reports on their daily internet habits, social media use, alongside questions on psychological distress, self-esteem, loneliness and escapism. A total of 1182 young people aged between 16 and 25 years old completed these questionnaires online. The results showed that there were significant difference in problematic internet use scores among adolescents in the Philippines and Turkey. More specifically, social media use was significantly higher amongst young people from the Philippines whereas gaming addiction was significantly high in the Turkish sample. These findings also revealed that psychological distress, loneliness, and low self-esteem consistently predicted problematic internet use. Taken together these results emphasise that there are several factors underlying growing figures of problematic internet use in young people, these factors include emotional distress, need for escapism, loneliness, and social media use, however, going forward more nuanced cultural differences should also be considered.

This research aimed to validate an Emotion Regulation Training program cultivating resilience, strengthening interpersonal communication, and enhancing emotional intelligence. A community sample of 104 participants were assigned to either an intervention ( n =  51) or nonactive control ( n =  53) group matched by age and gender. In addition, data were gathered via a cognitive performance test conducted pre- and postmeasurement in a subset of the larger sample ( n =  19 intervention, n =  19 control). Results revealed reappraisal significantly increased in the intervention group, which was associated with a decrease in depressive symptomology, worry, and suppression, and a concurrent increase in overall mental well-being, supporting the validation of the Emotion Regulation Training program.

This study aimed to develop and validate a brief emotion regulation training program that improved mental well-being. The program was preventative in nature, designed to build resilience while fostering more satisfying personal and professional relationships in a community sample. It was developed and piloted with 10 graduate students during Study 1; for Study 2, a community sample of 75 adults were randomly allocated to either a treatment (n = 38) or control (n = 37) group. In the pilot program, the social validity of the program was confirmed, while study 2 demonstrated significant changes in positive coping techniques (i.e., reappraisal) at one-year follow-up in the treatment group when compared with the control. These findings may have broad implications in the health sector due to the brevity, scalability, and costeffectiveness of this newly designed intervention.

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Research shows that internet addiction continues to grow globally, with wider access to the internet and changing use of smartphones. The compulsive internet use scale (CIUS) which has been found to be consistently associated with pathological internet use, is widely considered a measure for prolonged and problematic internet use. CIUS had been translated and adapted in several countries with reports of good reliability. However, to our knowledge this is the first study that examined the psychometric properties of the CIUS scale in three countries who share similar collectivistic attitudes and are a part of growing economies. This link was shared widely amongst young adults (aged 18–25 years), and a total of 837 participants completed the questionnaires. They completed the CIUS scale alongside a measure for escapism and self-esteem. These additional self-reports were added to assess the construct validity of the CIUS. The results from this study confirms the single factor structure of the CIUS as the best fit for this scale, this single factor solution was found for all the three countries. Similarly, high scores of internal reliability were observed for samples in India, Philippines and Turkey. We further found the CIUS to positively correlate with scores of escapism in the Turkish sample only. Taken together these results suggest that the CIUS is an effective measure regardless of country of residence, whilst highlighting the underlying differences in escapism that may need further attention.