TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of Problematic Internet Use among college and university students in eight countries
T2 - An international cross-sectional study
AU - Pal Singh Balhara, Yatan
AU - Doric, Ana
AU - Stevanovic, Dejan
AU - Knez, Rajna
AU - Singh, Swarndeep
AU - Roy Chowdhury, Mita Rani
AU - Kafali, Helin Yilmaz
AU - Sharma, Pawan
AU - Vally, Zahir
AU - Vi Vu, Tuong
AU - Arya, Sidharth
AU - Mahendru, Aishita
AU - Ransing, Ramdas
AU - Erzin, Gamze
AU - Le Thi Cam Hong Le, Huynh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - Background and aims: Internet use has increased worldwide exponentially over the past two decades, with no up-to-date cross-country comparison of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and its correlates available. The present study aimed to explore the pattern and correlates of PIU across different countries in the European and the Asian continent. Further, the stability of factors associated with PIU across different countries were assessed. Materials and methods: An international, cross-sectional study with a total of 2749 participants recruited from universities/colleges of eight countries: Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Nepal, Turkey, Serbia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale -2 (GPIUS2) assessing PIU, and the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) assessing the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 2643 participants (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6; 63% females) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4% (range 1.6% to 12.6%). The mean GPIUS2 standardized scores were significantly higher among participants from the five Asian countries when compared to the three European countries. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU across different countries and cultures. Discussion and conclusions: The PIU is an important emerging mental health condition among college/university going young adults, with psychological distress being the strongest and most stable correlate of PIU across different countries and cultures in this study. The present study highlighted the importance of screening university and college students for PIU.
AB - Background and aims: Internet use has increased worldwide exponentially over the past two decades, with no up-to-date cross-country comparison of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and its correlates available. The present study aimed to explore the pattern and correlates of PIU across different countries in the European and the Asian continent. Further, the stability of factors associated with PIU across different countries were assessed. Materials and methods: An international, cross-sectional study with a total of 2749 participants recruited from universities/colleges of eight countries: Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Nepal, Turkey, Serbia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale -2 (GPIUS2) assessing PIU, and the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) assessing the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 2643 participants (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6; 63% females) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4% (range 1.6% to 12.6%). The mean GPIUS2 standardized scores were significantly higher among participants from the five Asian countries when compared to the three European countries. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU across different countries and cultures. Discussion and conclusions: The PIU is an important emerging mental health condition among college/university going young adults, with psychological distress being the strongest and most stable correlate of PIU across different countries and cultures in this study. The present study highlighted the importance of screening university and college students for PIU.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depression
KW - Distress
KW - Internet
KW - Students
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.09.004
DO - 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.09.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 31563832
AN - SCOPUS:85072560157
SN - 1876-2018
VL - 45
SP - 113
EP - 120
JO - Asian Journal of Psychiatry
JF - Asian Journal of Psychiatry
ER -