P01-40 - Psychologic predictors and epidemiology of internet addiction among university students in greece

Abstract

AimTo present the epidemiology and psychological predictors of Internet Addiction (IA) among Greek University students.MethodsThis random sample consisted of 3545 students, drawn from 24 higher education institutions (1618/1927 M/F, mean age 20.12 ± 2.4 years). The survey was conducted in the 4 Greek cities: Athens, Preveza, Thessaloniki and Amfissa.ResultsThe prevalence rates of IA according to Young's Test in the four cities were: Athens (17.5%), Preveza (15.9%), Thessaloniki (19.3%), Amfissa (16.3%). There was a statistically significant association between location and IA (χ2 = 28.251, df = 3, p < 0.001), gender and IA for males and females (p < 0.001). We performed a t-test with the dependent variable S = sum of scores in the psychological features of loneliness, feeling abandoned, disappointed, aimless in life, and with low self-esteem; the grouping variable was IA. Results showed that the variable S was much lower for the non-addicted than for addicted students (t = 19.329, p < 0.005, df = 3085). Binary logistic regression was performed to assess the impact of psychological characteristics on the likelihood that respondents would be Internet Addicted. The model was statistically significant χ2(10, N = 3085) = 316.3, p < 0.001. The model classified correctly 85.1% of the cases. The strongest predictors of IA were the following: Loneliness (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.67-2.71), feeling abandoned (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.2-2.1), low self-esteem (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.4-2.1) and fear of losing their job (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.01-1.7).ConclusionLoneliness, helplessness, low self-esteem and fear of unemployment are the strongest predictors of IA among Greek university students.