The extensive availability of the internet has led to the recognition of problematic internet use, the so-called Internet Addiction (IA), mostly involving adolescents. Burnout can lead to substance abuse or addictive behaviour (such as internet addiction) as a coping method. There are insufficient data about internet addiction and its possible association with burnout in adults, especially among healthcare workers. The aim of our present study was to focus on prevalence and the risk factors of internet addiction and its possible association with burnout among healthcare workers in a single hospital applying a questionnaire-based survey. In total, 49 doctors (10.1%), 198 nurses (40.9%), 123 medical assistant (25.4%), 73 other healthcare workers (15.1%), and 42 (1.7%) healthcare associated workers (cleaning, laundry, etc.) have completed our survey. In a multivariate analysis, IA was associated with age between 18 and 25 (OR: 2.6, p = 0.024), surfing on the internet >5 h daily (OR 25.583, p < 0.001), being single (OR: 4.275, p = 0.006), being childless (OR: 3.81, p = 0.011), working less than five years (OR 2.135, p = 0.048) and job type (being healthcare associated worker, OR: 2.907, p = 0.009). Illicit drug intake (OR 52.494, p < 0.001), and diabetes (OR: 4.122, p = 0.043) were also significantly associated with internet addiction. No association of burnout and IA could be found. A small but significant proportion of our healthcare workers suffered from IA, which was associated with substance abuse and diabetes in multivariate analysis. Our study also draws attention to the risk factors of IA such as younger age, family status, working type and working hours internet use. The possible association of burnout and IA merits further investigation.

The extensive availability of Internet has led to the recognition of problematic Internet use (so called Internet addiction, IA) mostly involving adolescents. There are limited data about the prevalence and consequences of IA in adults especially among high school teachers. Here, we present a cross-sectional prospective study focusing on the association of Internet addiction with burnout, depression, insomnia, and lower quality of life among high school teachers taking many co-variates into account. Overall, 623 males (34.3%) and 1194 females (65.7%) participated in our study. Internet addiction was detected in 5.2% (95/1817) based on the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. Internet addiction was associated with severe burnout (10.5 vs. 2.7%, p < 0.001), moderate (36.8 vs. 1.7%, p < 0.001), and severe (6.3 vs. 0.1%, p < 0.001) depression, insomnia (23.1 vs. 11.4%, p < 0.001), and severe sleep disturbance (severe insomnia, 27.4 vs. 3.8%, p < 0.001) and lower quality of life in all domains (p < 0.001). There was also a significant correlation of the severity of the above-mentioned parameters and the severity of IA (overall scores, p < 0.001 in all cases). In a multivariate analysis including demographic criteria, risk factors medical conditions and the above-mentioned parameters as co-variates internet addiction was significantly associated with depression (OR = 3.836, CI: 2.92–5.44, p = 0.03), and insomnia (OR: 3.932, CI: 3.6–5.69, p = 0.002). This is the first study from Hungary and is one of the first studies showing the association of IA with mental issues, burnout, and lower quality of life among adults. It underlines the clinical importance of problematic Internet use among adults.

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The extensive availability of internet has led to the the recognition of problematic internet use (so called internet addiction, IA) mostly involving adolescents. There is limited data about the prevalence of IA in adults. Here we present a study focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among high school teachers. Overall 2500 paper-based questionnaires were successfully delivered and 1817 responses received (response rate of 72.7%). In our study 1194 females (65.7%) and 623 males (34.3%) participated. In a multivariate analysis including of all factors (demographic data, internet habits, comorbidity etc.) age <35 years (OR: 6.098, CI: 5.09–7.08, p < 0.001), male gender (OR = 5.413, CI: 4.39–6.18, p = 0.002), surfing on the internet > 5 h daily (OR 2.568, CI: 2.03–3.39, p < 0.001), having no children (OR: 1.353, CI: 1.13–1.99, p = 0.0248), and having secondary employment (OR = 11.377, CI: 8.67–13.07, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with internet addiction. This is the first study from Hungary showing the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among high school teachers. A small, but significant proportion suffered from IA. Our study also draws attention to the risk factors of IA such as younger age, family status and working type.

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Napjaink egyik legszélesebb körben emlegetett jelensége a kiégés (burnout), mely a leggyakrabban a segítő szakmákban dolgozókat érinti. Célkitűzés: Munkánk célja a kiégés jelenségének komplex vizsgálata szociális munkások körében. Módszerek: A demográfiai adatok felvétele mellett a kiégés vizsgálatához a Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) kérdőívet használtuk, a kognitív/viselkedésbeli hibákat, diszfunkcionális elvárásokat pedig a Diszfunkcionális Attitűd Skála (DAS) segítségével térképeztük fel. A hangulatzavar kimutatásához a Beck Depresszió Kérdőív rövidített változatát alkalmaztuk, továbbá az Erőfeszítés–Jutalom Egyensúlytalanság Kérdőív és a Társas Támogatás Kérdőív is kitöltésre került. Eredmények: Összesen 300 fő töltötte ki a kérdőívet: 106 férfi, 194 nő. A munkavállalók döntően a fiatal/középkorú korcsoporthoz tartoznak, a 26–45 év közöttiek aránya 52,2%. Az átlagos kiégési pontszám 53,9 (SD = 18,7) volt, melyből 105 fő (35,1%) alacsony, 182 fő közepes (60,6%) és 13 fő (4,3%) súlyos kiégéssel érintett. A multivariációs analízis során a női nem (OR: 5,857), az életkor (OR: 4,126), a munkában eltöltött évek (OR: 2,721), a sokgyermekes család (OR: 2,861) és a társas támogatás hiánya (OR: 2,81) bizonyultak a kiégés független rizikótényezőinek (p<0,05 minden esetben). A depresszió és a kiégés (p<0,001), valamint a diszfunkcionális attitűdök és a kiégés között pozitív kapcsolat igazolódott (korrelációs együttható = 0,316; p<0,001). Következtetés: Eredményeink alapján a szociális munkások jelentős része közepes fokú kiégésben, 5%-uk pedig súlyos fokú kiégésben szenved. A kiégésnek vannak befolyásolható (munkahelyi attitűdök, társas támogatás) és nem befolyásolható (életkor, nem, család) tényezői, melyeket az esetleges prevenciós, illetve intervenciós beavatkozások során figyelembe kell venni. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(44): 1884–1890. Summary. Introduction: Burnout is increasingly prevalent mainly involving employees working in the social sphere. Objective: The aim of our study was to examine the complexity of burnout among social workers. Methods: Baseline demographic data were recorded. Burnout was assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the intensities of dysfunctional attitudes were also studied. Depression was detected by the abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Questionnaire, furthermore social supports and effort–reward imbalance were also examined. Results: Overall 300 employees participated in our study. Age group distribution was young/middle-aged access, the vast majority of the workers was between 25 and 45 years. The mean burnout scale was 53.9 (SD = 18.7), 105 workers had mild (35.1%), 182 moderate (60.6%) and 13 severe (4.3%) burnout. In a multivariate analysis, the female gender (OR: 5.857), the age (OR: 4.126), the years spent with working (OR: 2.721), the number of children (>3) (OR: 2.861) and the lack of social support (OR: 2.81) were independently associated with burnout (p<0.05 in all cases). There was a significant association among burnout, depression and dysfunctional attitudes. Conclusion: The vast majority of our social workers suffered from moderate and a small, but a significant proportion from severe burnout. Our work draws attention to the modifiable and unmodifiable risk factors of burnout in this population, which may help in the development of preventive strategies. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(44): 1884–1890.