Prevalence and Risk Factors of Internet Addiction among Hungarian High School Students

Abstract

Introduction: The extensive availability of the internet has led to the recognition of problematic internet use (so-called internet addiction—IA) mostly concerning adolescents. Aim: Here, we present a study focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction in Hungarian high school students, using a questionnaire-based survey. Results: Overall, 3000 paper-based questionnaires were successfully delivered and 2540 responses were received (response rate of 84.6%). A total of 1309 males (mean age 17.6 ± 1.43 years) (51.5%) and 1231 females (mean age 17.5 ± 1.4 years) (48.5%) took part in our study. Internet addiction was detected in 486 (19.1%) students (232 males, mean age 17.6 ± 1.35 years, and 254 females, mean age 17.34 ± 1.37 years) based on the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. In a multivariate analysis, age (age of 17, OR = 3.688, p < 0.001), family status (living without parents) (OR = 2.091, p = 0.034), the size of the household (more than five people per household) (OR = 2.546, p = 0.026), spending more than 6 h online (OR = 5.457, p < 0.001), and daily time interval (OR = 84.316, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with internet addiction. Alcohol use (OR = 10.341, p = 0.001), drug intake (OR = 6.689, p = 0.001) and musculoskeletal disorders (OR = 3.966, p = 0.047) were also strongly associated with IA. Conclusion: A significant proportion of our students suffered from IA, which is associated with substance intake (possible abuse) and musculoskeletal pain in the multivariate analysis. Our study also draws attention to the preventable risk factors of IA, such as working hours or nighttime internet use, number of hours spent online and family surroundings.

The Association of Internet Addiction with Burnout, Depression, Insomnia, and Quality of Life among Hungarian High School Teachers

“…Personality traits and prior depression may have a significant effect on the development of Internet addiction or they may enhance each other. Internet addiction may also lead to depression as a consequence of addictive behavior [ 2 , 16 , 34 ]. In our previous study, history of depression was not associated with IA which raises the possibility of Internet addiction and subsequent depression, but it merits further investigation [ 25 ].…”

“…As there are no clear diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction, it is highly recommended to measure excessive Internet use with a continuous questionnaire [ 2 ]. We chose the problematic Internet use questionnaire (PIUQ) because its structure tightly adheres to the proposed diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction and was created based on the clinimetric and psychometric analysis of Young’s Internet addiction test independently validated by several groups and used in our previous published work [ 2 , 16 , 24 , 25 ]. The questionnaire contains 18 items, each scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).…”

“…Internet addiction (IA or problematic Internet use) is a well-known phenomenon described almost three decades ago [ 1 ]. Similar to other types of addiction it is usually defined as prolonged problematic, compulsive use (of the Internet) with subsequent impairment in an individual’s function in various domains of life [ 2 ]. IA is not a single diagnosis and it should be regarded as an umbrella term covering all aspects of Internet misuse such as problematic gaming, online porn abuse, and social media overuse resulting in similar symptomatology; problematic users are not able to control their online activities, which lead to significant negative effects on their lives as mentioned above [ 3 ].…”

“…Despite intensive and cumulative research on the topic carried out in the last three decades, and due to a lack of consensus and scarcity of cross-sectional and absence of clinical studies, the identification of IA has been challenging [ 2 ].…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Problematic Internet Use among Hungarian Adult Recreational Esports Players

“…Problematic internet use (PIU) or internet addiction (IA) is one of the most extensively studied phenomena of our century, generating debates among experts and researchers [ 1 ]. The key issue is prolonged, compulsive and problematic use with significant impairment in various domains of life, similar to other types of conventional addictions such as alcohol misuse [ 2 ]. PIU is not a single diagnosis; it must be regarded as an umbrella term covering all aspects of compulsive consumption such as social media addiction or gaming disorder.…”