INTERNET ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF ADOLESCENTS IN CROATIA AND GERMANY

Background: The research examines the influence of internet addiction of adolescents in Croatia and Germany and its impact on the subjective feeling of health status. The purpose of this paper is also to give insight into how the Internet addiction which is a risky health behavior affects the health status of adolescents. The excessive use of Internet is linked with the lower health status of Croatian adolescents as well as of the adolescents in Germany. S ubjects and methods: Respondents are defined as students who attend school regularly ages 11-18. The modified SF-36 questionnaire and IAT for Internet addiction were used. Results: The Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated -0.23 with N=459 and p<0.001. Accordingly, the correlation between health quality and Internet addiction is negative but statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: There is a strong correlation between adolescents' mental health and quality of life and the level of their Internet addiction. Out of the total number of adolescents in ill-health, 39% of them are moderately or severely addicted to the Internet. 20% out of the total number of adolescents in medium health is moderate of severely addicted to the Internet. Finally, out of the total number of adolescents in good health 13% has been moderate of highly addicted to the Internet. Therefore, the better the adolescents' health, the fewer the Internet addicts. And vice versa, the worse the health, the more the Internet addicts.