Abstract
Objective:To find out the correlation between internet addiction and depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate medical students in Azad Kashmir.Methods:A cross-sectional study including 210 undergraduate medical students (first to the fifth year) was done in Poonch Medical College, Azad Kashmir. The data collection tools were DASS21 questionnaire and Young’s internet addiction questionnaire. Spearman rank correlation test was done to see the correlation between internet addiction and depression, anxiety, and stress. Data were analyzed by SPSS v23 at a 95% confidence interval.Results:A very high prevalence (52.4%) of moderate to extremely severe internet addiction was observed among the respondents. The mild positive correlation between internet addiction and depression was identified (p <.001) and similar type of correlation was observed between internet addiction and stress (p .003). However, anxiety and internet addiction were not significantly correlated. The prevalence of anxiety and depression among the males were higher than the females, whilst the stress level was almost the same across gender.Conclusion:Internet addiction has been found to be associated with various psychiatric diseases. In this study, we also observed such correlation. We have also observed a very high level of internet addiction among medical students. The prevalence of internet addiction may further increase in the coming years as the internet will become more cheap, available and include more high quality psychologically addictive contents.
Highlights
Over the last fifteen years, the number of internet users increased by one thousand fold
Severe depression was higher among the male respondents 21 (28%)
A study done in Saudi Arabia revealed a very high level of depression, anxiety, and stress among the medical students
Summary
Over the last fifteen years, the number of internet users increased by one thousand fold. The addictive internet usage proliferated significantly in the last decade. It has been found to be associated with younger age internet users.[1] internet addiction (IA) is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorder, Fifth Edition, its association was identified with various psychiatric conditions.[2] People who spend more than 38 hours a week online, are considered to have an Internet addiction. Internet addiction does not involve the use of an intoxicating drug, Pak J Med Sci March - April 2019 Vol 35 No 2 www.pjms.org.pk 506 but it is very similar to pathological gambling in terms of brain biochemistry.[3] Internet addicts tend to become less responsible for their actions and suffer from social isolation.[4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
