People who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression, British scientists said on Wednesday.

    But it is not clear whether the internet causes depression or whether depressed people are drawn to it.

    Psychologists from Leeds University found what they said was "striking" evidence that some avid net users develop compulsive internet habits in which they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites.

    "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction," the study's lead author, Catriona Morrison, wrote in the journal Psychopathology.

    "This type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health."

    In the first large-scale study of Western young people to look at this issue, the researchers analyzed internet use and depression levels of 1,319 Britons aged between 16 and 51.

    Of these, 1.2 percent were "internet addicted", they concluded.

    These "internet addicts" spent proportionately more time browsing sexually gratifying websites, online gaming sites and online communities, Morrison said. They also had a higher incidence of moderate to severe depression than normal users.

    "Excessive internet use is associated with depression, but what we don't know is which comes first -- are depressed people drawn to the internet or does the internet cause depression?," Morrison said.

    "What is clear is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies."

    Morrison noted that while the 1.2 percent figure for those classed as "addicts" was small, it was larger than the incidence of gambling in Britain, which is around 0.6 percent.

    英国科学家于本周三称，经常上网的人出现抑郁症状的可能性更大。

    但目前还不清楚究竟是上网导致了抑郁，还是抑郁的人更喜欢上网。

    利兹大学的心理学家发现了据他们称"十分显着"的证据，一些酷爱上网的人形成了强迫性的网络习惯，他们将网络聊天室和社交网站取代了真实生活中的社交。

    该研究报告在《精神病理学》期刊上发表。报告主要撰写人凯翠欧娜？莫里森在其中写道："该研究强调了一个普遍观念，即过多地使用那些旨在取代正常社交功能的网站可能会导致抑郁症和网瘾等心理失调问题。"

    "这种类型的过度上网会对心理健康造成严重影响。"

    这是就这一问题对西方国家的年轻人开展的首次大规模研究，研究人员分析了年龄在16岁到51岁之间的1319名英国人的上网习惯和抑郁程度。

    他们得出结论，在这些人中，有1.2%的人上网成瘾。

    莫里森说，这些"网瘾患者"花在浏览色情网站、在线游戏网站和网络社区上的时间更多。和普通网民相比，他们出现中度到重度抑郁的几率更高。

    莫里森说，"过度上网和抑郁有关，但是我们不知道二者的因果关系--是抑郁的人更爱上网还是上网导致了抑郁？"

    "但有一点是清楚的，那就是对于一小部分人来说，过度上网可能是抑郁倾向的先兆。"

    莫里森指出，尽管1.2%这个比例仅从"网瘾患者"这一群体本身来看不是个大数字，但该比例高于英国的赌博率，后者约为0.6%.