Predictors of problematic Internet use in school going adolescents of Bhavnagar, India

Abstract

Background: Problematic Internet use (PIU) is the inability of individuals to control their Internet use, resulting in marked distress and/or functional impairment in daily life. Aim/Objective: We assessed the frequency of PIU and predictors of PIU, including social anxiety disorder (SAD), quality of sleep, quality of life and Internet-related demographic variables among school going adolescents. Methods: This was an observational, single-centered, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of 1,312 school going adolescents studying in Grades 10, 11 and 12 in Bhavnagar, India. Every participant was assessed by a pro forma containing demographic details, questionnaires of Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) for PIU severity, SAD severity, Quality of Sleep assessment and Quality of Life assessment, respectively. The statistical analysis was done with SPSS Version 23 (IBM Corporation) using chi-square test, Student’s t test and Pearson’s correlation. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to find the predictors of PIU. Results: We found frequency of PIUs as 16.7% and Internet addiction as 3.0% among school going adolescents. Participants with PIU are more likely to experience SAD ( p < .0001), poor quality of sleep ( p < .0001) and poor quality of life ( p < .0001). There is positive correlation between severity of PIU and SAD ( r = .411, p < .0001). Linear regression analysis shows PIU can be predicted by SAD, sleep quality, quality of life, English medium, male gender, total duration of Internet use, monthly cost of Internet use, education, social networking, gaming, online shopping and entertainment as purpose of Internet use. Conclusion: Participants with PIU are more likely to experience SAD, poor quality of sleep and poor quality of life.

Predictors of Spontaneous Remission of Problematic Internet Use in Adolescence: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

“…A similar picture emerged with regard to social anxiety. Associations between problematic Internet use and social anxiety were found earlier in some published studies (e.g., [21]). The relevance of social anxiety for the spontaneous remission of adolescent problematic Internet use was already reported before by Lau et al [4] and Ko et al [27].…”

“…Accordingly, these problematic behavior patterns seem to affect a substantial proportion of adolescents. Moreover, problematic Internet use seems to be associated with psychosocial impairment, for example lower self-efficacy [18], more difficulties in emotion regulation [19], psychopathological burden as stronger conduct problems and depressive symptoms [20] or social anxiety [21], but as well as with procrastination [22] and learning [23]. In contrast to the intensive international research activities in this field and the reported prevalence rates, comparatively very few studies have focused on spontaneous remission and its possible causes.…”

Problematic Internet Use as a Predictor of Eating Disorders in Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

“…On the other hand, the development of smartphones and social networks have considerably increased the level of internet addiction among university students [2,3,4]. This casuistry mainly affects this population group, increasing the anxiety, depression, and stress levels of students [5,6].…”

Burden of internet addiction, social anxiety and social phobia among University students, India

“…[ 32 40 41 ] Vadher et al also reported a positive correlation between social anxiety (SPIN) and internet addiction ( r = 0.411, P < 0.0001), in school going children in India. [ 42 ] Saika et al also reported a significant association between internet addiction and anxiety (depression anxiety stress scale 21) ( P < 0.0001). [ 37 ] Literature search has also shown that higher recreational use of the internet was associated with poor academic performance, loneliness and staying up late.…”