December 2015 Vol. 3 No.12

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Original Research Article

Internet Addiction among Taif University Students and its Association with Psychiatric Co-Morbidities

Abdullah Alshehri¹, Hatim Azahrani^2* and Mohammed Alotaibi³

¹Family Medicine Senior Registrar, Abha PHC, MOH
²Family Medicine, Addiction Medicine, Primary Mental Health Consultant, Taif Mental Health Hospital, MOH
³Family Medicine Resident, Prince Mansour

*Corresponding Author’s E-mail: ab-ad-2008@hotmail.com

Accepted November 17, 2015

Abstract

Internet is a global system that is increasingly used and is becoming an important part of daily life for college students for both academic and recreational purposes. This study examines the extent of prevalence of internet addiction and its association with psychiatric co-morbidities. Further the study aims at comparing these factors between male and female students as well as between those of different colleges of Taif University of Saudi Arabia. A representative sample of Taif university students during the academic year 2013-2014 was considered for the study. Two separate sampling frames were prepared, the first sample was collected from administration and finance students, and other sample collected from sciences (medical) colleges. An analytical cross sectional study was carried out. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized for data collection. The 20-item Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) examined the internet usage. Psychiatric co-morbidities were examined using the Arabic version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The study included 279 university students. A response rate of 91.8% was achieved during data collection. The age of respondents ranged between 18 and 26 years. More than half of them (54.1%) were females. Majority of them (98.2%) were using internet. Internet addiction was reported among 4% whereas possible addiction was reported among 45.3% of them. Internet addiction was significantly associated with longer average daily time of using the internet as well as missing college days, at 1% level of significance. There is significant positive relationship among internet addiction and depression, anxiety and stress. The depression, anxiety and stress levels are significantly higher for females compared to males, at 5% level of significance. The depression and anxiety levels are significantly higher for administration and finance stream students compared to medical students, at 5% level of significance. Internet addiction is common hidden problem among Taif university students as almost half of them had either internet addiction or possible addiction. It leads to depression, anxiety and stress.

Keywords: Internet addiction, Psychiatric co-morbidities, Students, Saudi Arabia.