Prevalence and determinants of Internet addiction among the students of professional colleges in the Jammu region

Abstract

Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives of users to a large extent. It holds tremendous educational benefits to college students; however, its excessive usage can lead to addiction and even psychological morbidities. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with various factors including depression, anxiety, and stress. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of two professional colleges, i.e., medical and engineering colleges in the Jammu region. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information regarding socio-demographic and personal details of students. Young's internet addiction scale was used to assess internet addiction, whereas the DASS 42 scale was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. Data thus collected were analyzed using the PSPP software. Results: A total of 480 students constituted the study population. The prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 78.7%, with a significantly higher prevalence seen among the male students in comparison to females ( P < 0.005). A significantly positive correlation of internet addiction was found with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Internet addiction is significantly associated with psychopathology among the respondents. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop effective strategies for the prevention of internet addiction by promoting awareness among the students.

Personality Traits of Croatian University Students with Internet Addiction

“…The present study did not find a difference in the IA prevalence considering the participants’ faculty subject area, which is in concordance with an earlier study among Croatian university students [ 35 ] and a recent study among Indian students [ 33 ], although a recent study from Egypt found that students who studied in the field of biomedicine a more prone to IA development [ 47 ] and study among Indian students published in 2020 showed that students who studied in the field of technical sciences are the most vulnerable for the development of IA [ 48 ].…”

“…Considering the sex difference in IA, this study showed that IA was statistically more frequent among males than among females, which is consistent with several studies from different countries [ 17 , 28 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] as well as with the results of previous studies in Croatia [ 34 , 35 ] although some studies found that the IA is more frequent among females [ 26 , 36 ] and others did not discover the difference in IA considering sex [ 6 , 12 , 29 , 37 ].…”

Internet addiction in young adults: The role of impulsivity and codependency

“…Our results underline the male prevalence of Internet addiction, in line with other studies carried out during the same period ( 97 , 98 ). Regarding gender differences, the literature indicates that men are generally attracted to sex sites and online games.…”

Internet addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents in southeast Nigeria and implications for adolescent care in the post-pandemic era: A cross-sectional study

“…In addition, our study also noted that males get addicted to the internet more than females and this is in keeping with the findings of Adiele and Olatokun in southwest Nigeria, 49 Kumari et al in Jammu, India 50 and Prakash et al in an Indian online cross-sectional study. 32 Also, the finding that spending more time on the internet, and risky behaviours such as smoking, use of drugs and alcohol use are associated with internet addiction was in tandem with the findings of Zenebe et al, 51 and Kupus et a.l 47 during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”