Prevalence and Possible Attributes of Internet Addiction Disorder among Students of University of Kerbala

Hayder Hassan Aziz Abduallah; Salam Sahib Obaid; Baydaa Ibrahim Salman; Ali A. Kadhim Abutiheen

doi:10.70863/karbalajm.v14i1.857

Authors

Hayder Hassan Aziz Abduallah Primary Health Care Department \Karbala Health Directorate, Karbala, Iraq
Salam Sahib Obaid Primary Health Care Department \Karbala Health Directorate, Karbala, Iraq
Baydaa Ibrahim Salman Primary Health Care Department \Karbala Health Directorate, Karbala, Iraq
Ali A. Kadhim Abutiheen University of Kerbala - College of Medicine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70863/karbalajm.v14i1.857

Keywords:

Internet addiction (IA), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), University students, Kerbala

Abstract

Background: Internet usage is tremendously growing, but misuse and overuse lead to negative results at the psychological, social physical levels, and academic of the people, especially for students. This is called Internet Addiction (IA). IA is a growing problem worldwide among young people including university students.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of IA among university students and to identify associated factors with IA.

Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 559 students of the first and third stages in four randomly selected colleges in the University of Kerbala. Data collection was done from 26th March to 29th April 2018, A self-administered questionnaire was used based on Arabic versions of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Analysis of the data was done by using SPSS version 20.

Results: The prevalence of IA was 68.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 65.1%-72.5%) and severe IA was10.2 %( 95% CI: 7.7% -12.7%). IA levels were significantly associated with male gender, excessive Internet use, lower sleeping hours, sleeping late, difficulty in awakening in the morning, and lower academic performance. Further, internet addicts showed a higher prevalence of headache, backache, and hand pain.

Conclusion: High level of IA was recognized among university students. IA levels are significantly higher among males. There was a positive association between IA and excessive internet usage, poor sleep habits, and lower academic performance. Those with higher IA levels have a higher prevalence of backache, headache, eye pain or redness, and pain in the hands because of sitting online for long periods.

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