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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Sep 6;10(3):601-610.
doi: 10.1556/2006.2021.00057.

Internet addiction in Gulf countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abdullah Murhaf Al-Khani  1 , Juliann Saquib  1 , Ahmad Mamoun Rajab  1 , Mohamed Abdelghafour Khalifa  1 , Abdulrahman Almazrou  1 , Nazmus Saquib  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Internet addiction in Gulf countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abdullah Murhaf Al-Khani et al. J Behav Addict. .

Abstract

Background and aims: The prevalence of internet addiction (IA) varies widely in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (4%-82.6%). We aimed to assess the quality of IA studies from the GCC and pool their data to get an accurate estimate of the problem of IA in the region.

Methods: A systematic review of available studies was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials were systematically searched; studies conducted in GCC countries (i.e., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) with a validated instrument for internet addiction assessment were eligible. Ten studies were eligible for the systematic review, all of which were included in the meta-analysis. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used for quality assessment.

Results: Nine out of ten of the included studies had either adolescent and/or young adult participants (age < 25). Two studies were of 'good' quality, six were of 'satisfactory' quality, and two were of 'unsatisfactory' quality. The pooled internet addiction prevalence was 33%; it was significantly higher among females than males (male = 24%, female = 48%, P = 0.05) and has significantly increased over time (P < 0.05).

Discussion and conclusions: One in every three individuals in GCC countries was deemed to be addicted to the internet, according to Young's Internet Addiction Test. A root cause analysis focusing on family structure, environment, and religious practices is needed to identify modifiable risk factors.

Keywords: Gulf Cooperation Council; internet addiction; prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study selection flow diagram (IA: internet addiction, GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Forest plot of pooled prevalence of internet addiction in the GCC (Prev: Prevalence, CI: Confidence interval, Q and I 2 (I 2): Heterogeneity statistics)
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Doi plot showing the risk of publication bias in the meta-analysis of internet addiction prevalence (LFK: Luis Furuya-Kanamori index)
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Forest plot of pooled prevalence of internet addiction subgrouped by gender (M: Males, F: Females, Prev: Prevalence, CI: Confidence interval, Q and I 2 (I 2): Heterogeneity statistics)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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