Internet Addiction in Socio-Demographic, Academic, and Psychological Profile of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract

Internet addiction is a serious problem among young adults that requires increased attention, especially at a time of distance learning during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between internet addiction and selected socio-demographic, study-related, and psychological characteristics of college students. Internet addiction was measured using the Internet Addiction Test both overall and in its individual subscales (Salience, Excessive Use, Neglect Work, Anticipation, Lack of Control, and Neglect Social Life). The selected characteristics represented (1) socio-demographic profile (gender, age, residence, family), (2) academic profile (housing during the semester, form of study), and (3) psychological profile (depressive symptoms—the Patient Health Questionnaire, stress—the Perceived Stress Scale, anxiety symptoms—the Generalized Anxiety Disorder). Data collection took place during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at Czech and Slovak colleges, with 1,422 students from the Czech Republic and 1,677 students from Slovakia participating in the research. The analytical processes were carried out through descriptive analysis, non-parametric difference analysis, and multiple negative binomial regression. Mild internet addiction was found in 387 (27.2%) Czech and 452 (27.0%) Slovak students. Moderate internet addiction was identified in 49 (3.4%) students from the Czech Republic and in 100 (6.0%) students from Slovakia. Two (0.1%) Czech and three (0.2%) Slovak students reported severe internet addiction. Increased likelihood of internet addiction overall, as well as in most individual subscales, was found particularly among male students and students who lived away from home during the semester. Depressive symptoms and stress could also be considered significant predictors in both countries. These results are important for the development of effective strategies and prevention programs, as Internet addiction may be a serious problem in the future, given the current times. When assessing internet addiction among college students, it would also be appropriate to evaluate the individual internet addiction subscales and their specifics.

Internet Addiction among Young Adult University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Peritraumatic Distress, Attachment, and Alexithymia

“…Epidemiological studies before the pandemic outbreak reported lower prevalence rates of IA among university students (approximately 11%) [ 104 , 105 ]. Our findings are in line with the studies conducted during COVID-19 that have reported prevalence rates of IA between 21% and 27% among young adult students [ 106 , 107 ]. This increase in the rates of IA prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic could be due to the parallel increase in internet usage [ 6 , 20 ], as our study has also evidenced.…”

Internet Addiction Amongst University Students Under COVID-19: Prevalence and Correlates

“…Although researchers have examined IA in university students, there are few studies to understand IA in college students under the pandemic, who are "forced" to have online learning and communication. Existing research reported a high prevalence of IA in university students under the COVID-19 pandemic: Jahan et al (2021) reported that around 71% of Bangladeshi university students showed symptoms of IA; Olawade et al (2020) found that 55% of university students in Nigeria could be classified as having IA; Gavurova et al (2022) reported that rough one-third of students in Czech Republic and Slovakia could be classified as having excessive symptoms of IA. Some related studies have been conducted in mainland China: Jiang et al (2020) and Xia et al (2021) reported prevalence rates of IA to be 32.4% and 30.6%; Cai et al (2021) found that 23.3% of the students could be regarded as having IA; Lin (2020) argued that school closure, social distancing restrictions, and related consequences had led students to heavily rely on the internet for meeting their psychosocial needs, hence increasing their risk of developing IA.…”

“…There are studies showing that failure to meet the daily needs and confrontation with challenges and difficulties would lead to psychological morbidity , which might predispose young people to be addicted to the internet. There are also studies showing that negative emotions are precursors of IA (Fernández-Villa et al, 2015;Gavurova et al, 2022).…”

Investigating problematic uses of Facebook and other Internet activities among university students in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…On the other hand, the prevalence of PUF was 37.1% in the present study, which is similar to previous Bangladeshi studies by Sayeed 33 . Outside of Bangladesh, a multi-country study reported that the prevalence rates of PUI were 14% in South Korea, 19% in China, 35% in Hong Kong, 37.5% in Malaysia, 48% in Japan, 51% in the Philippines, 43.4% in Egypt, 30.8% in Czech, and 33.1% Slovak [42][43][44] . Prevalence rates for Facebook addiction has been identified as 47% in Malaysia 45 , 5.1% in Turkey 46 , and 26% in India 47 .…”