Çelik, Oğuzhan; Yalçın, Ragıp Ümit; Eşkisu, Mustafa

Due to the rapidly developing technological advancements, the overuse of the Internet has led to the emergence of problematic Internet use, which has become a part of our daily lives. This study aims to investigate the relationships between problematic Internet use, Behavioral Activation System (BAS), metacognition, online dissociative experiences, and insomnia. Participants were 341 Turkish adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years (Mean = 15.49, SD = 1.03), of whom 63% were female. Participants responded to the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation System Scale, Metacognition Questionnaire, Van Online Dissociative Experiences Schedule, Insomnia Severity Index, and Chen Internet Addiction Scale. The mixture structural equation modeling approach was used to analyze the data. We found a positive relationship between BAS and metacognition, as well as insomnia, and a negative relationship with online dissociation. Furthermore, BAS was indirectly related to problematic Internet use via metacognition, online dissociation, and insomnia. The mixture analysis grouped participants into two latent classes. The first class (76%) had low levels of metacognition, online dissociation, insomnia, and problematic Internet use and high levels of behavioral activation while the second class (24%) had low levels of behavioral activation and high levels of metacognition, online dissociation, insomnia, and problematic Internet use. These findings indicate that individuals with high impulsivity, a tendency toward fun-seeking, and reward sensitivity are predisposed to excessively use the Internet and that metacognition, online dissociative experiences, and insomnia play a determining role in this behavior.

Boysan, Murat; Eşkisu, Mustafa; Çam, Zekeriya

The study was set out to explore the structural relationships between fear of COVID-19, cyberchondria, intolerance of uncertainty, and obsessional probabilistic inferences. The data were recruited online from a community population (n = 1,049) subjected to a confirmatory factor analytic procedure. The structural model specified according to the previous findings in the literature showed that a general tendency to negative expectations in terms of probabilistic thinking was significantly associated with both COVID-19-related-fear and intolerance of uncertainty. Fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with cyberchondria. Probabilistic thinking style and intolerance of uncertainty contributed to cyberchondria through fear of COVID-19 as well. We concluded that a tendency to engage in a probabilistic thinking style and intolerance of uncertainty seems to play role in the etiology of fear of infection and cyberchondria.

Eşkisu, Mustafa; Kapçı, Emine GÜl

The study aimed to examine the efficacy of the Parenting Support Program (PSP) for reducing problem behaviors and increasing adaptive behaviors in young children aged 3 to 6. The PSP focuses on effective parenting skills and building positive interactions between parents and their children. Parents of children (n = 18 mothers and 11 fathers) were randomly assigned to an experiment group (EG) and a wait-list (WL) group. The EG attended a total of 12 individually delivered sessions. Data was gathered via parent and teacher report measures, observation and semi-structured interviews. The PSP was effective in increasing adaptive behaviors and decreasing behavior problems in children. The change in the children’s score which fulfills the Reliable Change Index criteria in the EG was found to be higher than the WL group. However, fathers reported fewer improvements than mothers in the EG. Qualitative data supported the experimental study results demonstrating the efficacy of the PSP, and met the expectations of parents. Consequently, the PSP could be used as an intervention tool to decrease behavior problems and increase adaptive behaviors in young children.