Prevalence of Internet Addiction, Shopping Addiction and Bulimia in Depressive Adults

Internet addiction, shopping addiction and bulimia has been found to affect neurological, psychological and social network adversely in many cases. The present study aims at drawing a comparison between depressive and non-depressive adults with respect to internet addiction, shopping addiction and bulimic behavior. 30 adults diagnosed with clinical depression and 30 non- depressive adults were assessed on the Internet Addiction Scale, Bergen’s Shopping Addiction Scale and the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale to fulfill the aims of the study. The results revealed a significant difference between the study group and the control group with respect to internet addiction. High levels of depression have been seen to correlate with increase in internet addiction and shopping addiction. The findings also indicate individuals diagnosed with clinical depression and having high levels of shopping addiction, have a tendency to overeat as compared to those not diagnosed with depression.