Prevalence and determinants of Internet Addiction among medical students and its association with depression

Background: Internet addiction has been a topic of discussion in the academic literature for many years. As of April 2020, about 60 % of the world's population (nearly 4.6 billion people) were active internet user in their early adulthood. The prevalence among adolescent and college students ranged from 0.9 % to 33 %. The current study aimed to explore internet addiction's prevalence and correlates among undergraduate medical students at an Egyptian university. Also, to assess the relationship between internet addiction, depression symptoms, and socioeconomic status. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 321 undergraduate medical students at Assiut University using the Internet Addiction Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Family Affluence Scale. Results: About 9 % of the study participants screened positive for internet addiction. The most important determinants among medical students were sex, mother's employment status, family affluence, depressive symptoms, and unmonitored internet access. Limitations: We did not investigate another psychiatric disease, daily time of internet usage, most frequent time of usage, type of internet usage, and cost of use. Conclusions: Internet Addiction is an important psychological problem affecting about 9 % of Assiut university medical students during their undergraduate stage, which may interfere with their lives and studies. Students with lower Internet addiction rates were female students whose mothers were employed, lived in a low affluence family, had fewer depressive symptoms, and had unmonitored internet privacy.

Automated summary

Internet addiction is a significant issue among undergraduate medical students, with a prevalence rate of approximately 9%. Factors such as gender, mother's employment status, family affluence, depressive symptoms, and monitored internet access influence internet addiction among these students.