Occurrence of problematic Internet use and its correlates among Egyptian adolescent students in international schools in Cairo

Abstract

Background Internet addiction is a global phenomenon that has been a topic of great interest to researchers, clinicians, teachers, parents, and community groups. The study aims in determination of the rate of problematic Internet use among a sample of Egyptian adolescent students, relations of problematic Internet use with socio-demographic data, risk factors, and comorbid psychiatric disorders. A sample of 248 Egyptian adolescent school students aged 11 to 18 years old were assessed using the Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) Scale, Social Media Disorder (SMD) Scale, Youth Self-Report (YSR), and The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for children and adolescents (Mini KID). Results Among the study sample, 42.3% of the students suffered from mild Internet addiction, 35.1% suffered from moderate Internet addiction, and 3.6% suffered from severe addiction. 31.5% were risky gamers and 10.5% were disordered gamers; 34.3% had problematic social media disorder and the highest observed psychiatric disorders were major depressive episodes 9.3%, generalized anxiety disorder 7.7%, alcohol dependence 4.4%, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder 4.4%, social phobia 4%, and a higher percentage of psychiatric disorders among severe Internet addiction 88.9% and among moderate addiction 70.6%, disordered gamers 92.3%, problematic social media users 60%, and a higher mean of hours spent online per day of 6.8 h per day. Conclusions Problematic Internet use has a negative impact on Egyptian adolescent students in international schools in study sample and adds to the existing literature regarding the magnitude of Internet addiction and its relationship with different psychiatric disorders.

The effect of social anxiety on teenagers’ internet addiction: the mediating role of loneliness and coping styles

“…The research on teenagers and IA shows that IA can lead to bad habits (eating disorders, work, and rest disorders, smoking, etc. ), decreased academic performance (reduced attention and memory), and anxiety and depression in some mental diseases [ 6 , 7 ]. And with time, non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation of teenagers with Internet addiction showed an upward trend [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Mom, dad, put down your phone and talk to me: how parental phubbing influences problematic internet use among adolescents

“…For instance, previous researchers' work reported that there was a prevalence of 33% for PIU among Spanish adolescents [3]. A survey in Egypt has found that 35.1% of adolescents suffer from moderate Internet addiction, and 3.6% suffer from severe addiction [4]. Several studies have suggested there are harmful effects of PIU on adolescents' physiological, physical, psychological, and behavioural development, such as gray matter abnormalities, vision loss, depression, and sleep disturbances [5][6][7][8].…”