What is comorbidity, and which disorders often occur together with problematic screen use?

Comorbidity means that several disorders or burdens occur in the same person at the same time. With problematic screen use the most common are anxiety disorders, depression, impulse-control disorders, ADHD, substance problems, pathological gambling (especially in men), eating disorders (especially in women) and sleep problems.

Frequent companions of problematic screen use:

• anxiety disorders, e.g. social phobia
• depression or depressed mood
• impulse-control disorders
• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• drugs and problematic substance use
• pathological gambling (significantly more in men)
• eating disorders (significantly more in women)
• sleep problems

Why it matters: the direction of cause is often unclear. A socially anxious teenager may retreat into games because offline contact is hard, and the retreat then deepens the anxiety. Treating only the screen use misses the underlying disorder. It also means many affected people are counted under another diagnosis, so the real number of cases is probably higher than the statistics show.

Go deeper:

• Wikipedia: Comorbidity — the concept and why it complicates diagnosis.