Prevalence and factors associated with problematic internet use in a population of spanish university students

Ramón-Arbués E. ; Granada López J.M. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Martínez-Abadía B. ; Echániz Serrano E. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Antón Solanas I. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Nash M.

Resumen: (1) Background: To examine the prevalence, and associated factors of, problematic Internet use in a sample of Spanish university students. (2) Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of a convenience sample of 698 university students. Self-esteem, alcohol consumption, perceived social support, depression, anxiety, stress and problematic Internet use were evaluated using the Rosenberg, CAGE, DUKE-UNC-11, DASS-21 and Young’s Internet Addiction Test, respectively. (3) Results: Problematic internet use was reported by 21% of respondents. Risk of problematic Internet use was independently associated with the preferred use of the smartphone, time of exposure to the Internet, less perceived social support, problematic alcohol consumption and symptoms of stress and anxiety. We found significant association between problematic internet use and time of exposure to the Internet, residential status, alcohol consumption, self-esteem, perceived social support and psychological distress, after bivariate analysis. (4) Conclusions: A considerable prevalence of problematic Internet use was found; in our sample problematic Internet use was associated with stress, alcohol consumption, anxiety and perceived social support. Strategies aimed at the early identification of problematic Internet use may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of the university student population. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18147620

Año: 2021

Publicado en: International journal of environmental research and public health 18, 14 (2021), 7620 [12 pp]
ISSN: 1661-7827

Factor impacto JCR: 4.614 (2021)

Categ. JCR: PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH rank: 45 / 183 = 0.246 (2021) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH rank: 71 / 210 = 0.338 (2021) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 100 / 279 = 0.358 (2021) - Q2 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.5 - Medicine (Q2) - Environmental Science (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.814 - Pollution (Q1) - Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis (Q1)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Enfermería (Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería)