Internet addiction in students from an educational institution in Southern Brazil: prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and its associated factors among students at an Educational Institution in Southern Brazil. Method This is a cross-sectional study, targeting a sample of students aged from 14 to 20 years. They were selected by random sampling to be representative of the 4038 students enrolled at the institute at the time. IA was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Screening for anxiety and/or depressive disorders was performed using the Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Results The prevalence of IA was 50.8% and the rate was higher among individuals who had screened positive for depressive or anxiety disorders than among those who had not (p = 0.003). There was an association between IA and access to certain types of content, such as gaming (p = 0.010), work and study related content (p = 0.030), and using the internet to access sexual content (p < 0.001). Conclusion Further studies are needed to confirm the high prevalence of IA and explore factors associated with it in samples with similar characteristics to ours. The associations between this dependency and positive screening for anxiety and/or depressive disorders and the types of content accessed are an alert to the existence of these important relationships and illustrate the importance of studying them further. Knowledge about these associations provides an opportunity to implement measures for prevention, such as psychoeducation, and to offer adequate treatment.

Internet Addiction in Socio-Demographic, Academic, and Psychological Profile of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

“…Based on all the above-mentioned findings, it was possible to agree that the co-existence of internet addiction and depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress in college students indicates that internet addiction is associated with other psychological problems ( 38 ). From the opposite point of view, students who were psychologically well were less likely to be addicted ( 35 , 42 ).…”

“…In this case, respondents could select one of the following answers for each of the 10 items: never-−0, almost never-−1, sometimes-−2, fairly often-−3, very often-−4. The ranges of the total PSS-10 score indicated: low stress (0-13), moderate stress (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26), and high stress (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Accordingly, the higher the total score, the more severe the psychological distress.…”

“…The scale consisted of 20 items with the following answers: not applicable-−0, rarely-−1, occasionally-−2, frequently-−3, often-−4, always-−5. Internet addiction was identified as follows: normal level of internet usage (0-30), mild addiction symptoms (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), moderate addiction symptoms , and severe addiction symptoms (80-100). The IAT scale was composed of six subscales for which precise interval thresholds are not defined.…”

“…According to Masaeli and Farhadi ( 29 ), internet-based addictive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic were mostly due to financial hardships, isolation, problematic substance use, and psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and stress. In this context, depression, anxiety, and stress are known to be associated with more severe problematic use and/or internet addiction in students ( 6 , 18 , 30 – 35 ). Based on these findings, it can be assumed that depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and perceived stress may also prove to be significant predictors in other countries, such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.…”

Smartphone addiction in COVID-19 pandemic times

“…It is important to highlight the high SPA prevalence before and during lockdown for the sample evaluated. Other Brazilian studies have also shown high SPA and internet addiction prevalence [33][34][35] . Although there are comparison limitations regarding inclusion and exclusion criteria and differences on SPA assessment scales, this finding reinforces the importance of preventive and harm reduction health policies.…”