Considering the Relationship between Internet Addiction, Happiness, and General Self-Efficacy in the Students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Internet addiction and happiness and general self-efficacy among students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. The statistical population consisted of all students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and the sample consisted of 315 students. Data were collected using the Yang Internet Addiction, Scherer General Self-efficacy, and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean age of students were 22.31 years and the sex ratio was almost equal (43.9% male and 56.1% female). 12.2% of students had severe Internet addiction behavior. The most frequent use of the Internet during the day was 2-4 hours (35.4%), which was the most time consumed during the night (63.2%). The results also showed that the mean score of self-efficacy was 59.88 ± 8.72, the mean score of Internet addiction was 53.59 ± 16.43, and the mean score of happiness was 41.09 ± 12.99. Conclusion: Daily use of the Internet on various websites by students with Internet addiction reduces their sense of happiness; this finding could be an alarm about the increase of this disorder among students. So appropriate planning in this field should be done with the cooperation of university officials.