EXAMINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG ADOLESCENTS
Author(s)
Noémi Bognár-Csendes, BSc, MSc1, Annamaria Pakai, MSc, RN, PhD2, Imre Boncz, MSc, PhD, MD1, Réka Vajda, MSc, PhD1;
1University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute for Health Insurance, Pécs, Hungary, 2University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Emergency Care, Pedagogy of Health and Nursing Sciences, Szombathely, Hungary
1University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute for Health Insurance, Pécs, Hungary, 2University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Emergency Care, Pedagogy of Health and Nursing Sciences, Szombathely, Hungary
OBJECTIVES: Digital technologies have become ubiquitous globally, making problematic internet use an increasingly prevalent phenomenon associated with addiction and mental health disorders. This study aimed to investigate the association between problematic internet use and mental health in adolescents, with special emphasis on depression literacy and help-seeking behavioral patterns.
METHODS: This quantitative, cross-sectional study enrolled 330 adolescents aged 12-18 years with active school enrollment in 2025. Data collection utilized a self-administered questionnaire incorporating researcher-developed sociodemographic questions and established validated measures: the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ), Smartphone Addiction Scale, Short Version (SAS-SV), Depression Literacy and Misconceptions Scale (DepSter), and General Help-Seeking Questionnaire Original Version (GHSQ). Descriptive analyses (frequencies, percentages, means, ranges) and inferential statistical tests (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, linear regression, and Pearson/Spearman correlations) were conducted at a 95% confidence level (p<0.05) with normality assessed via Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were utilized for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Female adolescents reported significantly higher depression literacy scores (U=9734.0; p<0.001) and lower depression-related misconception scores (U=9490.0; p<0.001) than males. Conversely, males demonstrated greater help-seeking intentions across multiple support sources (parents, relatives, physicians, helplines, religious advisors) for both personal and suicidal ideation concerns. Problematic internet use showed significant positive correlations with anxiety (r=0.319; p<0.001), depression symptoms (r=0.358; p<0.001), and stress symptoms (r=0.371; p<0.001). A significant negative association was found between problematic internet use and mental well-being (r=-0.324, p<0.001), suggesting that increased problematic internet use corresponds to decreased mental well-being.
CONCLUSIONS: Results conclusively demonstrated that problematic internet use significantly impacts adolescent mental health. Further investigation is warranted to identify the primary factors influencing youth mental health outcomes and help-seeking behaviors, with the ultimate goal of developing evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies.
METHODS: This quantitative, cross-sectional study enrolled 330 adolescents aged 12-18 years with active school enrollment in 2025. Data collection utilized a self-administered questionnaire incorporating researcher-developed sociodemographic questions and established validated measures: the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ), Smartphone Addiction Scale, Short Version (SAS-SV), Depression Literacy and Misconceptions Scale (DepSter), and General Help-Seeking Questionnaire Original Version (GHSQ). Descriptive analyses (frequencies, percentages, means, ranges) and inferential statistical tests (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, linear regression, and Pearson/Spearman correlations) were conducted at a 95% confidence level (p<0.05) with normality assessed via Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013 were utilized for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Female adolescents reported significantly higher depression literacy scores (U=9734.0; p<0.001) and lower depression-related misconception scores (U=9490.0; p<0.001) than males. Conversely, males demonstrated greater help-seeking intentions across multiple support sources (parents, relatives, physicians, helplines, religious advisors) for both personal and suicidal ideation concerns. Problematic internet use showed significant positive correlations with anxiety (r=0.319; p<0.001), depression symptoms (r=0.358; p<0.001), and stress symptoms (r=0.371; p<0.001). A significant negative association was found between problematic internet use and mental well-being (r=-0.324, p<0.001), suggesting that increased problematic internet use corresponds to decreased mental well-being.
CONCLUSIONS: Results conclusively demonstrated that problematic internet use significantly impacts adolescent mental health. Further investigation is warranted to identify the primary factors influencing youth mental health outcomes and help-seeking behaviors, with the ultimate goal of developing evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
EPH60
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health
Topic Subcategory
Public Health