Evaluation of Internet Addiction in a Group of High School Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate internet addiction and the effects of some variables like age, gender, parental age and education, number of siblings, existence of internet connection at home, existence of computer in the adolescent's room, time spent on internet, adolescent's cigarette use, depression inventory score on internet addiction inventory scores in a group of high school students. Method: The study group consisted of students of a high school in Ankara city center who volenteered to participate in the study. Data was collected by a socio-demographic information form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Internet Addiction Inventory (IAI). A probability level of p<0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. Results: The study group consisted of 211 students of whom 54% (n=114) were female. Time spent on internet and depression scores were positively correlated with IAI scores and IAI scores of males were significantly higher than IAI scores of females. No significant correlation was found between the IAI scores and other variables. The following items were found to be statistically significant in differentiating the 'addicted group' from the 'non-addicted group, respectively: to be male, a high depression score and long time spent on internet. Conclusion: According to our study results, among high school students, the likelihood of internet addiction is higher in males. Level of depression and the time spent on internet were found to be possible risk factors that effect internet addiction. The results of our study will be helpful for future protective studies about internet addiction.