Although it has long been used in research, the I-PACE model (“Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution”), developed by Prof. Dr Matthias Brand, has now also been empirically confirmed. This is demonstrated by the results of a study involving over 800 participants, which have been published in the scientific journal “Comprehensive Psychiatry”.

 The model describes three fundamental processes that reinforce and intertwine to drive internet addiction – the desire to feel better gives rise to an inner urge to go online, which subsequently becomes impossible to control. (“feels better”, “must do”, “can’t stop”) The interplay of emotions, habits and self-control is crucial to problematic internet behaviour.

 With the help of this model, the course of an addiction can even be predicted over several months. Identifying the stage a patient is at is crucial for therapeutic care. The decision to publish the findings in “Comprehensive Psychiatry” was therefore a deliberate one: the journal is publicly accessible and aimed at a clinically active readership.

 Source