Internet addiction and its relationship with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, anxiety and stress among university students in Malaysia

Abstract

Background and aims There is growing evidence on the contribution of psychological factors to internet addiction; yet it remains inconsistent and deserves further exploration. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the psychological symptoms (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness) and internet addiction (IA) among the university students in Malaysia. Materials and methods A total of 480 students from different faculties in a Malaysian public university participated in this study. They were selected by simple random sampling method. They completed self-administered questionnaires including the Malay Version of Internet Addiction Test (MVIAT)) to measure internet addiction and Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Symptom Checklist, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) and UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) to assess for ADHD symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness respectively. Results The prevalence of IA among university students was 33.33% (n = 160). The respondents’ mean age was 21.01 ± 1.29 years old and they were predominantly females (73.1%) and Malays (59.4%). Binary logistic regression showed that gender (p = 0.002; OR = 0.463, CI = 0.284–0.754), ADHD inattention (p = 0.003; OR = 2.063, CI = 1.273–3.345), ADHD hyperactivity (p<0.0001; OR = 2.427, CI = 1.495–3.939), stress (p = 0.048; OR = 1.795, CI = 1.004–3.210) and loneliness (p = 0.022; OR = 1.741, CI = 1.084–2.794) were significantly associated with IA. Conclusion A third of university students had IA. In addition, we found that those who were at risk of IA were males, with ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, who reported stress and loneliness. Preventive strategy to curb internet addiction and its negative sequelae may consider these factors in its development and implementation.

Factors associated with problematic internet use among University of Gondar undergraduate students, Northwest Ethiopia: Structural equation modeling

“…This indicates students with higher ADHD symptoms scores had a higher PIU level compared to their counterparts, keeping other variables in the model controlled. This finding is supported by a systematic review [72][73][74], a study conducted in Britain [75], New York [61], Japan [76], Turkey [77,78], and Malaysia [79]. This can be due to the fact that individuals with ADHD are more sensitive to rewards.…”