Momoko Kitazawa1, Michitaka Yoshimura1,2, Mayu Murata3, Yuka Sato-Fujimoto4, Hidefumi Hitokoto5,6, Masaru Mimura7, Kazuo Tsubota1, Taishiro Kishimoto7. 1. Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. 2. Department of Sleep-Wake Disorders, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan. 3. Department of Student Affairs, Mie University, Mie, Japan. 4. Faculty of Health Sciences, Gumma Paz College, Takasaki, Japan. 5. Department of Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. 6. Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. 7. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
AIM: Research on the adverse effects of Internet use has gained importance recently. However, there is currently insufficient data on Japanese young adults' Internet use, so we conducted a survey targeting Japanese university students to research problematic Internet use (PIU). We also investigated the relationship between PIU and multiple psychiatric symptoms. METHODS: A paper-based survey was conducted at five universities in Japan. Respondents were asked to fill out self-report scales regarding their Internet dependency using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Sleep quality, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tendency, depression, and anxiety symptom data were also collected based on respective self-reports. RESULTS: There were 1336 responses and 1258 were included in the analysis. The mean IAT score (± SD) was 37.87 ± 12.59; and 38.2% of participants were classified as PIU, and 61.8% as non-PIU. The trend level for young women showed that they were more likely to be classified as PIU than young men (40.6% and 35.2% respectively, P = 0.05). Compared to the non-PIU group, the PIU group used the Internet longer (P < 0.001), had significantly lower sleep quality (P < 0.001), had stronger ADHD tendencies (P < 0.001), had higher Depression scores (P < 0.001), and had higher Trait-Anxiety scores (P < 0.001). Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors that contributed to an increased risk of PIU were: being female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52), being older (OR = 1.17), having poor sleep quality (OR = 1.52), having ADHD tendencies (OR = 2.70), having depression (OR = 2.24), and having anxiety tendencies (OR = 1.43). CONCLUSION: We found a high PIU prevalence among Japanese young adults. The factors that predicted PIU were: female sex, older age, poor sleep quality, ADHD tendencies, depression, and anxiety.
AIM: Research on the adverse effects of Internet use has gained importance recently. However, there is currently insufficient data on Japanese young adults' Internet use, so we conducted a survey targeting Japanese university students to research problematic Internet use (PIU). We also investigated the relationship between PIU and multiple psychiatric symptoms. METHODS: A paper-based survey was conducted at five universities in Japan. Respondents were asked to fill out self-report scales regarding their Internet dependency using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Sleep quality, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tendency, depression, and anxiety symptom data were also collected based on respective self-reports. RESULTS: There were 1336 responses and 1258 were included in the analysis. The mean IAT score (± SD) was 37.87 ± 12.59; and 38.2% of participants were classified as PIU, and 61.8% as non-PIU. The trend level for young women showed that they were more likely to be classified as PIU than young men (40.6% and 35.2% respectively, P = 0.05). Compared to the non-PIU group, the PIU group used the Internet longer (P < 0.001), had significantly lower sleep quality (P < 0.001), had stronger ADHD tendencies (P < 0.001), had higher Depression scores (P < 0.001), and had higher Trait-Anxiety scores (P < 0.001). Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors that contributed to an increased risk of PIU were: being female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52), being older (OR = 1.17), having poor sleep quality (OR = 1.52), having ADHD tendencies (OR = 2.70), having depression (OR = 2.24), and having anxiety tendencies (OR = 1.43). CONCLUSION: We found a high PIU prevalence among Japanese young adults. The factors that predicted PIU were: female sex, older age, poor sleep quality, ADHD tendencies, depression, and anxiety.
Authors: Kentaro Kawabe; Fumie Horiuchi; Rie Hosokawa; Kiwamu Nakachi; Shu-Ichi Ueno Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-01 Impact factor: 3.390