Assessment of internet addiction and loneliness in secondary and high school students

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of Internet addiction and loneliness in secondary and high school students.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted between May 7 and June 8, 2012, among secondary and high school students in Sivrihisar, which is a district in rural part of Anatolia, Turkey. The study group consisted of 1157 students. Young Internet Addiction Scale was used to assess the internet addiction. University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale was used for the evaluation of the level of loneliness. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Of the 1157 students, there were 636 (55.0%) male and 521 (45.0%) female aged 11 to 19 years (mean: 15.13 ± 1.71 years). According to the Internet Addiction Scale, 91 (7.9%) of the subjects were addicted to the internet. Obesity (odds ratio: 9.57), "Type A" personality (odds ratio: 1.83), first time usage of internet before age 12 (odds ratio: 2.18), using the internet every day (odds ratio: 2.47) and use the internet more than 2 hours a day (odds ratio: 4.96) were risk factors of internet addiction (p < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between the internet addiction and loneliness (rs = 0.121; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Internet addiction was found to be a major health problem in middle and high school students. A positive correlation between loneliness and internet addiction was also found.