Internet addiction among adolescents: prevalence, impact on scholastic performance and psychiatric co-morbidities

ABSTRACT

Background: Looking at the increasing use of internet, it is time to concern about internet addiction(IA) and its consequences. Though researchers have started paying attention to it, it is desired to study IA among adolescents residing in smaller cities and towns of India. Aim and Objectives:To knowthe prevalence of IA among school going adolescents and to find out its risk factors, impact on scholastic performance and presence of anxiety/ depression. Material and Method: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Jhalawar city of Rajasthan. A total of 421 students studying in class VIII to XII were recruited after taking complete enumeration sample from two schools. Along with proforma, study tools includedYoung’s Internet Addiction Test 20 (YIAT-20)and Patient Health Questionnaire-Anxiety & Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS). Results: Observed IA prevalence was 14%. IA was found to have deteriorating effect on scholastic performance. 64.4% and 54.2% of internet addicted students suffered from various grades of depression and anxiety respectively, which is quite high. Male gender and use of internet mainly for entertainment were predominant risk factors for IA on logistic regression.Conclusion:IA has adverse impact on adolescents in terms of poor scholastic performance and psychiatric co-morbidities.