Childhood sexual abuse, internet addiction, problematic pornography use, and depression among medical students in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Due to several factors (eg. sexual abuse, academic pressure), medical students go through significant mental health issues such as internet addiction (IA), problematic use of pornography (PPU), and depression. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) history, IA, PPU, and depression among medical students and associated factors. Methodology: Childhood sexual abuse history, Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT-20), Brief Pornography Screener (BPS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and other sociodemographic information were collected through an online Google form across Bangladesh in this cross-sectional study. Descriptive analysis, Pearson chi-square test, and ordinal logistic regression were employed to assess the prevalence, significant factors, and gender-based assessment. Later, to assess the correlation between the dependent variables, a bivariate co-relation matrix was employed. Results A total of 3264 students participated with a mean age of 21.5 years old. we found that 28.3% of students had a history of CSA, among them 7.35% were male, and 20.96% were female. 70.2% of students had PPU, 62.1% of them were addicted to the internet and 50.4% of them were depressed. Gender, medical college type, marital status, CSA, IA, and PPU had a significant effect on increasing depression among the participants and positively related with each other. Conclusion The study found many medical students with IA, PPU, and depression. Students must discuss their CSA-related experiences. To protect children from CSA, lawmakers should pass legislation. Eliminating IA and PPU requires psychological therapy for students. Marriage may reduce depression, encouraging stakeholders to explore its effects. Finally, public awareness is essential.