**2.2. Prevalence of Internet addiction**

leads to the problem of Internet addiction especially among teenagers. Of course, the problem of Internet addiction (IA) has become more widespread and considered as a social and public health problem. It is known that adolescents and young adults are the high-risk groups and more vulnerable for Internet addiction [2]. Both groups especially adolescents suffer from emotional and social stress, in addition to lack of behavioral control due to incomplete psychological maturity, which motivate them to engage in risk-related factors such as Internet

Yet after the 20 years on evolving the concept of Internet addiction and despite the growth, the popularity, and the increasing prevalence of Internet addiction, there is still no clear definition of this concept. However, it is under investigation and to be included in the classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition

A number of literature have been written, which identified many risk factors for Internet addiction and several negative consequences resulting from this problem. Such risk factors include socio-demographic, social, psychological and mental factors, and Internet use practices. It produces physical, social, and psychological problems, in addition to academic performance and career difficulties [5, 6]. Therefore, this problem needs immediate action and treatment. Thus, there are different ways to treat Internet addiction; however, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proposed as an effective treatment. There is a specialized type or model to treat this disorder called cognitive behavioral therapy for Internet addiction

This chapter presents the data associated with the prevalence of Internet addiction and the risk factors to gather a sense of the scope of the problem. The chapter also provides the cognitive behavioral therapy model for treatment of Internet addiction. This chapter could help in developing two perspectives, the academic and the mental health. From the academic perspective, this chapter helps to identify future areas of research, as new studies in the field continue to emerge. From the mental health perspective, the chapter assists clinicians in developing more empirically sound methods to assess and potentially treat Internet-addicted

There are many definitions of Internet addiction. Some authors defined it as "excessive Internet usage" [7, 8], "problematic Internet use" [9], "Internet dependency" [10], or "pathological Internet usage" [11]. This variation is related to lack of agreement in definitions among studies that investigated the different symptoms and characteristics of IA. Young [7] developed definition for Internet addiction, which was "maladaptive pattern of Internet use that

addiction [3].

184 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Clinical Applications

(DSM-5) [4].

(CBT-IA).

clients by applying CBT-IA.

**2. Internet addiction**

**2.1. Definition of Internet addiction**

lead to clinically significant impairment or distress".

There are many studies focused on studying the prevalence of Internet addiction among adolescents and others focused on adults. The adolescents are considered as a high-risk group for the behavior of Internet addiction. They undergo many developmental changes and stressful events, which result in using Internet that is considered a rich and attractive environment to reduce these stressors [18]. There are many studies concerned to determine the prevalence of this problem among this target group. The prevalence of Internet addiction varies widely. It is documented that the recent prevalence in different countries ranges from 4.0 to 25.3% among school students [19–22]. In USA, the rate was reported between 0 and 26.3% [23] and 0.8 and 13.5% in the European Union [11, 24, 25]. In Asia regions, the prevalence of Internet addiction is reported between 2 and 25.3% [20, 21, 26]. In Middle Eastern, the prevalence was between 1 and 28.4% [19, 22, 27, 28], and the high prevalence was among Turkish students (11.6–28.4%) [28, 29].

Moreover, many studies regarding Internet addiction were conducted among adults in various countries [30–39]. The prevalence rates in studies have used Young's Internet Addiction Test ranged from 1.2% in the UK [24] to 40% of the Jordanian university students [26]. On the contrary, the prevalence of Internet addiction by using Chen's Internet Addiction Scale reported 12.3% [36] to 17.9% [33] among Taiwanese adults. However, the prevalence rates of Internet addiction by using the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire [13] demonstrated 1.0% among Norwegian adults [31] while 22.8% among Iranian Internet users [35].

From the results, there are differences in prevalence of Internet addiction, which may be related to differences in the definition of possible and serious addiction, using various instruments in the evaluation and sociocultural factors.
