Yatan Pal Singh Balhara1, Ana Doric2, Dejan Stevanovic3, Rajna Knez4, Swarndeep Singh5, Mita Rani Roy Chowdhury6, Helin Yilmaz Kafali7, Pawan Sharma8, Zahir Vally9, Tuong Vi Vu10, Sidharth Arya11, Aishita Mahendru12, Ramdas Ransing13, Gamze Erzin14, Huynh Le Thi Cam Hong Le15. 1. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Addictions Clinic (BAC), Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Center (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. Electronic address: Ypsbalhara@gmail.Com. 2. Professional Associate, Center for Applied Psychology, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia. Electronic address: ana.djoric.cpp@uniri.hr. 3. Clinic for Neurology and Psychiatry for Children and Youth, Dr Subotica 6a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: stevanovic.dejan79@gmail.com. 4. Department of Women´s and Children´s health, Skaraborgs Hospital, Skövde, Sweden; University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Blå stråket 15, 413 45 Göteborg, Sweden. Electronic address: rajna.knez@gu.se. 5. Senior Resident, Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Center (NDDTC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi,India. Electronic address: sevisingh@gmail.com. 6. Clinical Psychologist and UNDSS External Counselor, Bangladesh. Electronic address: rcmita@yahoo.com. 7. Ankara Children's Hematology and Oncology Training and Research Hospital Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: helinyilmaz136@gmail.com. 8. Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal. Electronic address: pawan60@gmail.com. 9. Assistant Professor, Psychology & Counseling - (CHSS), United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: zahir.vally@uaeu.ac.ae. 10. South Vietnam HIV Addiction Technical Transfer Centre - University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Electronic address: tuongvipac@gmail.com. 11. Postdoctoral fellow in Addiction Medicine & Senior Resident Centre for Addiction Medicine, National institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Bengaluru, India. Electronic address: draryasid3188@gmail.com. 12. Clinical Psychologist, South Asian University, India. Electronic address: ashita@ashitamahendru.com. 13. Department of Psychiatry, B K L Walawalkar Rural Medical College, Sawarde, Ratnagiri - 415 606, Maharashtra, India. Electronic address: ramdas_ransing123@yahoo.co.in. 14. Diskapi Training and Research Hospital, Turkey. Electronic address: gamze.erzin@gmail.com. 15. Faculty of Public Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Electronic address: hong.le@ump.edu.vn.
Abstract
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.
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.
Authors: Agata Błachnio; Aneta Przepiórka; Oleg Gorbaniuk; Monika McNeill; Rebecca Bendayan; Mithat Durak; Emre Senol-Durak; Menachem Ben-Ezra; Martina Benvenuti; Alan Angeluci; Ana Maria Abreu; Meiko Makita; María J Blanca; Tihana Brkljacic; Nenad Č Babič; Julia Gorbaniuk; Juraj Holdoš; Ana Ivanova; Sadia Malik; Anita Milanovic; Bojan Musil; Igor Pantic; Belén Rando; Gwendolyn Seidman; Lancy D'Souza; Mariek M P Vanden Abeele; Mariusz Wołońciej; Anise M S Wu; Shu Yu; Elvis Mazzoni Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2021-12-24
Authors: Chang Liu; Kristian Rotaru; Samuel R Chamberlain; Lei Ren; Leonardo F Fontenelle; Rico S C Lee; Chao Suo; Kavya Raj; Murat Yücel; Lucy Albertella Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-08-04 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Doris X Y Chia; Charis W L Ng; Gomathinayagam Kandasami; Mavis Y L Seow; Carol C Choo; Peter K H Chew; Cheng Lee; Melvyn W B Zhang Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-04-09 Impact factor: 3.390