CLINICAL ASPECTS OF INTERNET ADDICTION AMONG STUDENTS- IS IT DISORDER OR TREND OF THE TIMES?
Author(s)
Salpynov Z, Karp L, Salpynov L, Potapchyuk T, Almadiyeva A
Astana Medical University, Astana, Kazakhstan
OBJECTIVES: To investigate Internet addiction (IA) among the students of three major universities: Astana Medical University (Kazakhstan), Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy (Ukraine) and Tashkent Institute of Railway Transport Engineers (Uzbekistan). METHODS: Our study was based on a questionnaire, which included two sections: demographic part and a traditional K.Yang’s questionnaire. Problematic Internet Use (PIU) indices were calculated according to 4 scales: social comfort, loneliness, distraction, and impulsiveness. We used Student’s t-test, Spearmen’s rank correlation coefficient and Cronbach alpha coefficient. RESULTS: The majority of male and female students reported about using Internet five or more times a week. It was detected a statistically significant difference between men and women according to the latter type of activity, where females were more likely to use the Internet for entertainment than males (p<0.05). Data showed statistically significant differences among men. The same comparison among women did not find any significant differences. IA disorder can lead to «Dry eye» syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome (6,8%), neuroses, backaches and neckaches among young people. One of four respondents noted that they had an experienced pain, numbness in hands and wrists. Almost half of the students complain that they are concerned about their eyesight. The high value of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ranging from 0.91 to 0.99) testifies about the inverse association between the number of answers and their rank. CONCLUSIONS: When all results were compared, statistically significant differences of the comparative characterization of PIU among students by gender did not found (p> 0.05). The null hypothesis, which has proved the lack of differences in indicators of addictive behavior among students, is not confirmed. We found higher PIU indices among Kazakhstani students in the category of Social Comfort, in comparison with the students from Uzbekistan, having high PIU indices in the category of Diminished Impulse Control.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2015-05, ISPOR 2015, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Vol. 18, No. 3 (May 2015)
Code
PMH68
Topic
Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Topic Subcategory
Health Care Research
Disease
Mental Health, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Neurological Disorders