Hours Of Internet Use Research Articles

Videoconference-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Parents of Adolescents With Internet Addiction: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

The rise in internet addiction, including web-based gaming and social networking services, is a serious concern. Even with access to medical institutions and counseling services, individuals with internet addiction, particularly adolescents, often refuse medical treatment or counseling. Parent-focused psychological intervention may lead to positive outcomes by improving the parent-adolescent relationship and helping parents identify and modify their adolescent's problematic behaviors, including internet addiction. This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial to test the feasibility of remote cognitive behavioral therapy via videoconferencing for parents of adolescents with internet addiction. A total of 13 parents of adolescents aged 12-20 years with internet addiction were recruited and randomly assigned to either 12 sessions of the videoconference-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (vCBT) group (n=6, 46%) or the waitlist control group (n=7, 54%). The study period was from March 1, 2018, to March 31, 2022. The primary outcome was the scores of the Young Internet Addiction Test reported by the adolescents. The secondary outcomes were adolescents' hours of internet use per day (Internet Addiction Test), reported by the adolescents and by their parents; the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire, completed by the parents; and the quality of life of the adolescents and the parents, measured by the EQ-5D-5L. These were evaluated at weeks 0 and 13. As the primary outcome, the mean total Internet Addiction Test score decreased from 67.7 (SD 18.3; 6/13, 46%) at week 0 to 56.2 (SD 25.1; 5/9, 56%) at week 13 in the vCBT group, compared to an increase from 66.9 (SD 21.9; 7/13, 54%) to 68.0 (SD 18.7; 4/9, 44%) in the control group. For all outcomes, no significant differences were found between the 2 groups (all P>.05). This study suggested the practical feasibility of vCBT for parents of adolescents with internet addiction. Further large-scale, multicenter randomized controlled trials are necessary to examine the effectiveness. UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000032483; https://tinyurl.com/yuhen6c9.

Means of Electronic Communication and its Impact on Feelings and Behavior of Individuals

The phenomenon of addiction to the use of social media on the Internet has become noticeably prevalent among young people and adolescents. Therefore, this study sought to find out whether there is a direct relationship between Internet addiction, psychological alienation, and emotional relationships, and whether there are statistically significant differences in (internet addiction, psychological alienation, emotional relationships) due to the economic level, and Whether there are statistically significant differences attributed to gender and educational qualification in both electronic communication addiction, emotional relationships, and psychological alienation, in addition to spreading awareness among families about the danger of excessive use of electronic means of communication on adolescents and youth and clarifying the psychological, social and behavioral problems resulting from it. The current study released on the descriptive survey method, and the study sample included (74) respondents from young people and adolescents of both sexes in the Makkah region. A questionnaire was developed to collect the data needed for this study by reviewing the relevant literature. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first section included demographic data for the sample members, namely gender, social status, educational level, economic level, and the number of hours of internet use per day. The second section included the next main themes of the study: The first axis: addiction to electronic media; the second axis: the impact of Internet addiction on the behavior of individuals (emotional behavior); the third axis: the impact of Internet addiction on the occurrence of psychological alienation among adolescents and young adults. Among the most important findings of the study is the existence of a direct relationship between the study variables (internet addiction, psychological alienation and emotional relationships), meaning that the greater the internet addiction, the greater the psychological alienation and emotional relationships, and vice versa. The study recommended holding training courses for parents on how to deal with children in light of the globalization of the Internet, providing oversight from a specialist to combat Internet products and markets, and providing control and control programs.

Luster Regained : A Novel Cyber Incident Risk Prediction Model Using Machine Learning

Physical isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a 45% increase in digital use [5,15], leading to an increase in cyber incidents. This project seeks to understand the risk impact of prolonged internet use and evaluate opportunities for cyber education to lower such risk. In preparation for subsequent work, the project will learn about patterns in distress and the recovery of affected individuals. A 20-question English-language survey (Appendix A) was completed by 6th through 12th graders (n=1,869) across 4 countries. Analysis of the survey [1, 8, 10, 11, 13] indicated that the number of hours of internet use was a driver of the risk of cyber incidents. In addition to statistical analysis, the methodology used Google’s VertexAI AutoML [6] to generate an ensemble model to predict risk (on n=1 basis) from usage patterns (length of usage, gaming use, etc.). The cyber risk predictor model set has high overall accuracy (f1 score of 0.88) and precision and recall of 0.878. This low-cost approach to personalized risk scores could support periodic evaluation and trending of educational effectiveness in cyber safety. Separately, participants reported a strong association (Spearman’s Rho = 0.957) between distress from cyber incidents and recovery time. Among the respondents with high distress experiences, there is an urgent need to design support programs to help them cope.

The Prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety Disorder among Iranian Adolescents and their Association with Video Gaming and Internet Use

Background: Depression and anxiety are among the most common psychological disorders in adolescents. Studies have suggested a positive correlation between mental health problems and using the internet. Objective: This study aimed to determine the burden of anxiety and major depressive disorder (MDD) and their association with internet use and video gaming in adolescents. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescents aged 13 to 18 years referred to the 33-Laleh health center at West Tabriz from March to September 2019. The short form Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-SF) and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) scales were used. The data for demographic characteristics and the number of hours of internet use and video gaming per day were collected. The logistic regression test was applied. Result: In this study, 150 adolescents were included with a male to female ratio of 1:1. Anxiety and mild, moderate, and severe depressive disorder were detected in 39 (26%), 16 (10.7%), 20 (13.3%), and 6 (4.0%) cases by screening tools, respectively. The mean age (SD) of participants was 14.8 (1.54) years. The mean duration (SD) of internet use and video gaming per day was 2.10 (±2.6) and 1.15 (± 1.7) hours, respectively. The odds of severe depressive symptoms increased by 42% per hour of video gaming (p=0.003) and 31% per hour of internet use (p=0.016). Conclusions: Considering the significant positive association between depressive symptoms and video gaming and internet use, there is a necessity to call for actions to plan and implement psychological screening and subsequent supporting and treatment policies for those in need.

The Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Associated Factors among School-Going Adolescents in Ahmedabad

Background: The Internet is an integral part of modern life, and for the vast majority of Internet users, its benefits far outweigh the adverse consequences secondary to excessive use. Increasing internet use among adolescents is also likely to pose a major public health concern that is internet addiction (IA). Aim: To assess the prevalence of IA among school?going adolescents and the factors associated with IA. Methodology: A cross?sectional study was carried out to survey adolescents studying in 8th to 10th standard of three schools of Ahmedabad. The sample size was calculated 384 by using the formula (n = Z2pq/d2). Information regarding sociodemography and various patterns of internet use were obtained by using survey forms. Young’s IA test (IAT) Questionnaire was used to screen for IA. Results : The prevalence of Internet Addiction (IA) was 67.5%, 27% and 5.5% with normal (IAT < 50), moderate (IAT 50-79) and severe addiction (IAT 80-100) respectively. Age, male gender, owning a personal device, hours of internet use per day, use of smartphones, permanent login status, online shopping, watching movies, online gaming, searching information online were found to be significantly associated with severity of IA. Conclusion: Our study revealed a relatively high prevalence of internet addiction among younger participants and that requires awareness and intervention towards risk factors of internet addiction.

Evaluation of the association between internet addiction and fatigue among undergraduate students at universities in Mosul city, Iraq: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To investigate the weariness among undergraduate students at Mosul city's universities related to internet addiction. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 600 students from universities in Mosul city. The study was carried out from 22nd of April 2022 until 25th of May 2022. The tool of study involved the internet addiction test with (20) questions. SPSS version 26 was used to analyze the data. Results: Majority of students were in the age group 20-24 years. The average hours of internet use were between 5-8. We found that 48.7% students had mild internet addiction and 68.2% had fatigue. Conclusion: Moderate levels of internet addiction and fatigue were found. A strong link between internet addiction and exhaustion were observed.

Children’ Stress, Depression, Sleep, and Internet Use

This study examines the connections between children’s sleep, stress, depression, and internet use. Parents believe that sleep effectively reduces children’s stress, while children instead insist that internet use is effective for reducing their stress. Based on that argument, this study has three purposes: to examine whether sleep or internet use is more effective at reducing children's stress, examine whether stress is related to depression, and examine whether sleep affects depression through children's stress as a mediating factor. To this end, this study gathered a sample of 1,796 children from 32 elementary schools—all fourth- to sixth-graders who volunteered to take the survey—and measured their stress level, depression level, sleep hours, and hours of internet use. The Daily Stress Scale of Korean Children, Korean Child Depression Scale, hours of sleep on average per day (sleep), and hours of using electronic devices per day (internet use) were used as the measurements. Regarding the statistical analysis methods used in this study, linear regression was used to examine the regression effect of both sleep and internet use on stress and the regression effect of stress on depression. Path analysis, one of the structural equation models, was also used to find direct, indirect, and mediating effects between variables. The study results show that (i) sleep, not internet usage, effectively relieves children’s stress; (ii) stress is an important influence on depression; and (iii) sufficient sleep reduces stress, which reduces depression. It is recommended that future studies consider the quality of sleep and quantity of sleep for more valid data analysis and carry out follow-up research with wider age groups.

Associations of emotional and behavioral problems with Internet use among Chinese young adults: the role of academic performance

Background: To investigate the independent association between different types of emotional and behavioral problems and Internet use (i.e., Internet use time and problematic Internet use [PIU]) among Chinese young adults, and to test whether these associations vary by academic performance. Methods: Data was drawn from the 2019 National School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey, and 30,581 undergraduates (mean age: 19.9 [SD: 1.6] years) completed standard questionnaires qualifiedly. Daily hours of Internet use, PIU, emotional and behavioral problems, and academic performance were measured. Results: After adjusting for control variables and academic performance, students who reported having emotional problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.14, 95% CI=0.12~0.15; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.82, 95% CI=1.77~1.89), conduct problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.12, 95% CI=0.09~0.15; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.76, 95% CI=1.67~1.84), hyperactivity (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.08, 95% CI=0.06~0.12; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.46, 95% CI=1.38~1.54), and peer problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.03, 95% CI=0.002~0.05; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.53, 95% CI=0.44~0.62) were more likely to engaged in prolonged daily Internet use and PIU. In contrast, prosocial behavior was negatively associated with Internet use time and PIU. Stratified analyses showed that some of the associations in poor academic performers were stronger than in students with good and average academic performance. Limitations: The cross-sectional design limited the ability to make causal inferences. Conclusions:The findings suggest that the efforts to prevent abnormal Internet use should be focused on students with emotional and behavioral problems or poor academic performance.

Studying Vs Internet Use 0–1: the Mediating Role of Academic Procrastination between Flow and Problematic Internet Use among Greek University Students

University students are at high risk of exhibiting problematic Internet use as they tend to spend a lot of time online. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that procrastination would mediate the relationship between flow and problematic Internet use in a sample of 178 Greek University students, 67% of whom were females using a snowball sampling technique. Results revealed that flow was positively related to problematic Internet use (r = 0.36). In addition, mediation analysis revealed that academic procrastination mediates the relationship between flow and problematic Internet use. Findings suggest the more pleasurable is the Internet activity, the more the students tend to procrastinate towards meeting their academic obligations, and this is related to long hours of Internet use. Findings enrich previous literature on problematic Internet use and could potentially inform policies aiming to protect students’ health and well-being.

الفروق فی التنمر السیبرانی لدى طلاب التعلیم العام بالمدینة المنورة فی ضوء المستوى الاجتماعی- الاقتصادی والمرحلة الدراسیة والجنس Differences in Cyberbullying among Students of Public Education in Madina in Light of Socio-Economic Level, School Stage, and Gender

هدفت الدراسة إلى تحديد الفروق في التنمر السيبراني لدى أفراد العينة من المتنمرين سيبرانيا وضحايا التنمر السيبراني والتي تعزى لکل من المستوى الاجتماعي-الاقتصادي، والمرحلة الدراسية والجنس. تکونت العينة التي طبقت عليها أدوات الدراسة من (2804) طالبا وطالبة (1148 طالبا و 1656 طالبة). واستخدمت الدراسة استبانة إلکترونية لقياس التنمر السيبراني لدى المتنمرين والضحايا، واستبانة لتحديد المستوى الاجتماعي والاقتصادي. أظهرت النتائج عدم وجود فروق في التنمر السيبراني لدى عينة الطلاب المتنمرين وعينة الطلاب ضحايا التنمر السيبراني تعزى لاختلاف کل من الجنس، والجنسية، والمرحلة الدراسية، والمستوى الاقتصادي للأسرة، وعدد أفراد الأسرة الذکور، ومستوى تعليم الأب، ووظيفة الأب، ووظيفة الأم، واختلاف عدد ساعات استخدام الانترنت. وأظهرت النتائج وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا لدى عينة الطلاب المتنمرين سيبرانيا تعزى لاختلاف مستوى تعليم الأم لصالح المستوى الجامعي مقارنة بالتعليم الثانوي، ولمستوى الدراسات العليا مقارنة بدرجة البکالوريوس. کما أظهرت النتائج وجود فروق لدى عينة الطلاب المتنمرين تعزى لعدد أفراد الأسرة من الإناث لصالح الطلاب الذين تحتوي أسرهم على أکثر من ست إناث مقارنة بغيرهم. وأظهرت النتائج وجود فروق في التعرض للتنمر السيبراني لدى عينة الطلاب ضحايا التنمر السيبراني تعزى لاختلاف الحالة الاجتماعية للوالدين لصالح الطلاب الذين يقيمون مع کلا الوالدين. وقدمت الدراسة عددا من التوصيات والبحوث المستقبلية المقترحة في ضوء ما أسفرت عنه النتائج. The study aimed to identify the differences in cyberbullying among the subjects of the sample of cyberbullies and cybervictims, that are attributed to socio-economic level, school stage and gender. The sample, to which instruments of the study were administered, consisted of (2804) male and female students (1148 male and 1,656 female). The study used an electronic questionnaire to measure cyberbullying among cyberbullies and cybervictims, and a questionnaire to determine socio-economic level. Findings revealed no differences in cyberbullying among cyberbullies or among cybervictims due to the differences in gender, nationality, school stage, family economic level, number of family male members, father’s educational level, father’s job, mother's job, and the differences in the number of hours of internet use. The results revealed statistically significant differences among cyberbully students due to the differences in the mother’s educational level, in favor of the bachelor level compared to the high school level, and to the level of postgraduate studies compared to the bachelor degree. Results showed, also, differences among cyberbullies due to the number of family members of females, in favor of students whose families contain more than six females compared to others. Results revealed differences in exposure to cyberbullying among cybervictim students, due to the differences of the social status of parents, in favor of students who live with both parents. The study provided a number of recommendations and suggested future research in light of the results.

Brief Report: Increased Addictive Internet and Substance Use Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

Background and ObjectivesThe COVID‐19 pandemic and control measures may have increased the risk of abusing addictive substances as well as addictive behaviors.MethodsWe present an initial online survey in 6416 Chinese about the relation between the COVID‐19 pandemic and addictive behavior in China.ResultsDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, 46.8% of the subjects reported increased dependence on internet use, and 16.6% had longer hours of internet use. The prevalence (4.3%) of severe internet dependence rose up to 23% than that (3.5%) before the COVID‐19 pandemic occurred, and their dependence degree rose 20 times more often than being declined (60% vs 3%). Relapses to abuse from alcohol and smoking abstinence were relatively common at 19% and 25%, respectively. Similarly, 32% of regular alcohol drinkers and 20% of regular smokers increased their usage amount during the pandemic.Conclusion and Scientific SignificanceThese three coping behaviors (internet, alcohol, and smoking) during this COVID‐19‐related crisis appear to have increased the risk for substance use disorders and internet addiction. (Am J Addict 2020;00:00–00)

The association between smoking and loneliness among Chinese university freshmen.

BackgroundIn Chinese culture, smoking can promote social connectedness and integration. We therefore hypothesized that smoking would be negatively associated with loneliness in China. Given that loneliness is common and associated with adverse academic and health outcomes in university freshmen, examining correlates of loneliness in this population may deepen our understanding on the etiology of loneliness. This study investigated the association between smoking and loneliness in Chinese university fresh students.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, by using a two-stage cluster sampling approach, we recruited a total of 1,452 fresh students from a comprehensive university in Wuhan, China. These students completed a self-administered questionnaire containing the Chinese six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) and standardized questions on socio-demographics, internet use, and substance use, including smoking and use of alcohol and illicit drugs. Multiple linear regression was used to test the independent association of loneliness with smoking.ResultsIn Chinese university freshmen, current smokers had significantly higher DJGLS scores than non-smokers (11.9±4.60 vs. 8.53±3.72, t=7.351, P<0.001). After controlling for socio-demographic variables, current drinking, lifetime illicit drug use, and daily hours of internet use, the positive association between current smoking and DJGLS score remained statistically significant (unstandardized coefficient: 3.053, P<0.001).ConclusionsSmoking is independently and positively associated with loneliness in Chinese university freshmen. Smoking cessation might be helpful for preventing and reducing loneliness among Chinese university fresh students.

Internet Addiction in the Students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: The ever-increasing advancements on the World Wide Web and the countless increase in its users, especially among the university students, caused many problems. The internet addiction in the students is one of the significant problems which can have adverse effect on their health as well as their academic performance. Therefore, we intended to study the internet addiction among the students of the Semnan University of Medical Sciences.Methods: 260 students of the Semnan University of Medical Sciences were randomly sampled and entered into this descriptive-analytical study. The Young's standard questionnaire was used to collect the data and its reliability and validity were confirmed. We have used SPSS 18.0 software to analyze the data. The significance level was considered 5% (p-value).Findings: The analysis of the results showed that the internet addiction among the students participating in the study was as follows: 6% without internet addiction, 68% mild internet addiction and 31.6% moderate internet addiction. The internet addiction in the male students has been significantly higher than the female ones. The results analysis has also indicated that there is a significant and direct relationship between the hours of internet use and the extent of the addiction.Conclusions: Regarding the fact that most of the students in the present study have shown mild internet addiction; then we can hope with a proper planning which will provide the conditions, the students will use the internet more in research and science fields and thus wasting their precious time will be avoided.

Internet Addiction Among Iranian Students of Medical Sciences

Objective: To identify the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and associated factors among Iranian medical students. Material and Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 400 students. The self-administered questionnaire consisted of two sections: the first section was sociodemographic data, data about student's relations, and Internet use characteristics; the second part aimed at assessment of the level of IA using Young's 20-item scale for IA. Data analyzed in SPSS 20 at 0.05 significant level . Results: Considering their familiarity with the Internet, 80.3% stated personal experience and 12.3% individuals stated educational periods held outside the university. The most locations of using the Internet were dormitories (21.0%) and houses (43.5%). Concerning hours of Internet use, 45.2% used the Internet more than two hours per day. One hundred sixty-eight individuals (42.0%) stated that they used the Internet less than 15% for university activities. One hundred eighty-eight individuals (47.0%) used VPN and 75.5% were dissatisfied with Internet speed 61.2%. A total of 64.3% had a poor dependency on the Internet and the prevalence of IA was 3.5%. The mean score of IA questionnaire was 43.98 ± 15.92 from 125. The mean score of IA was higher in the male sex, but there was no significant correlation between sex and IA (p>0.05). There was not a significant correlation between the field of study and the year of entrance . Conclusion: The prevalence of Internet addiction among medical students was low. Identification of factors associated with IA can help in the planning of preventive programs to raise students’ knowledge about the hazards IA.

Association between home environment and children's long hours of internet use: An analysis of Survey on Parent-child Relationship in the Internet Age

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between home environment and long hours of internet use among Japanese elementary school and junior high school students.Methods We used data from the Survey on Parent-child Relationship in the Internet Age conducted by the Japanese National Institute for Youth Education in 2017. In the analysis, 2062 children between fifth grade of elementary school and second grade of junior high school from 20 prefectures in Japan were retained after excluding 210 children with no internet use. Exposure variables included children's ownership of internet devices (e.g., smartphones), parents' ways of using a mobile phone or smartphone at home, and the child's relationship to his or her parents. Outcomes were long hours of internet use on a weekday and a weekend day and experiencing a lack of sleep. We defined long hours as three or more hours on a weekday and five or more hours on a weekend day. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated using logistic regression analyses.Results Children's ownership of a smartphone or tablet was associated with long hours of internet use and experiencing lack of sleep. Compared to non-owners, adjusted odds ratios for smartphone owners were 2.55 [95%CI: 1.92-3.38] for long hours of internet use on a weekday and 1.66 [95%CI: 1.17-2.34] for lack of sleep. Spending long hours on the internet on the weekend was associated with parents using mobile phones while talking to their children [OR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.03-2.44] and children who do not enjoy being with family [OR=2.05, 95%CI: 1.00-4.18]. Additional analysis showed that situations such as parents' frequent use of mobile phones during talking, family members' frequent use of mobile phones even during family time, and not enjoying being with family were associated with not setting rules for children's use of mobile phones and personal computers at home.Conclusion Our findings suggest that factors such as ownership of devices and the ways parents use their mobile phones are associated with children's hours of internet use at home. To create an environment where children use internet appropriately, parental practices regarding mobile device use and rule setting at home may be important.

Problematic internet use: a cross-sectional study on a model from university students in Egypt.

Problematic Internet use in the form of excessive Internet use, excessive social network sites (SNSs) use, and compulsive Internet use (CIU) has been increasing among young adults. However, the association between excessive Internet and SNSs use and CIU have not yet been confirmed. This study aimed to investigate this association and detect the risk factors of excessive Internet use, excessive SNSs use, and CIU among university students in Egypt. A multi-stage random sampling approach was adopted to include university students representing medical and non-medical faculties from 3 universities in Egypt. The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) was used to measure the online addictive behaviors of students. The age of the 510 participating students was 20.84 ± 1.62 years, 28.2% were males, 36.9% were living in North Egypt, and 69.4% were registered in medical faculties. After adjustment for age, sex, residence, SNSs accounts, Internet payments, and academic gradings, having Sarahah account associated with excessive Internet use (p = 0.010), excessive SNSs use (p < 0.001), and CIU (p < 0.001) while having Instagram account associated with excessive Internet use (p = 0.019) only. CIU correlated positively with daily hours of Internet use (r = 0.303, p < 0.001) and daily hours of SNSs use (r = 0.356, p < 0.001). Excessive Internet use and excessive SNSs use are associated with CIU. Having Sarahah account is related to excessive Internet use, excessive SNSs use, and CIU.

Development of The Academics’ E-Readiness Questionnaire (ARQ) for Medical Universities

The present study is conducted to implement the newly developed questionnaire to assess the readiness of academics for Implementation of e-learning programs. The questionnaire was developed and its validity and reliability were evaluated. Then a cross-sectional study was conducted including 907 academics in three categories (faculties, students, and employees) of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the implementation of the questionnaire showed a significant relationship between e-learning knowledge and participants’ position in the university, as the professors and students had higher levels of this knowledge compared to the university employees (P&amp;lt;0.001). There was a significant relationship between e-learning knowledge and an academic degree in the study subjects (P=0.004). Skills and attitude were also significantly related to the variables of position, academic degree, and place of residence and hours of internet use. Skills, knowledge and attitude were all related to computer and internet access and language used on the internet.

Relationship Between (Pathological) Internet Use and Sleep Problems in a Longitudinal Study

Relationship Between (Pathological) Internet Use and Sleep Problems in a Longitudinal Study Excessive or pathological Internet use has already been associated with sleep disorders, but the direction of the connection remains still uncertain. The relationship between (pathological) Internet use and sleep problems in adolescence was investigated by a representative longitudinal survey of data from a sample of 1,060 students from Heidelberg and the surrounding area (SEYLE study). The students, on average 15 years old, responded at a baseline and after one year to a survey on sleep and Internet use. In addition to the number of hours of Internet use, pathological Internet use was assessed using the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (YDQ). Sleep duration and sleep problems were surveyed by self-assessment. The prevalence of adolescents with pathological Internet use was 3.71 % in the follow-up survey. Furthermore, 20.48 % of adolescents reported sleep problems. Pathological and excessive Internet use were predictors of sleep problems over the course of one year. Adolescents who met the criteria for Internet addiction to the baseline had a 3.6 times greater risk of developing sleep problems in the course of one year. Whereas sleep problems to the baseline increased the YDQ symptoms only by 0.22. Sleep problems often occur as a result of pathological Internet use and could have an addiction-enhancing effect as well as mediating further psychiatric comorbidities. Thus, sleep problems should be targeted for early intervention and therapeutic measures.

Online Harassment and Cyberbullying Victimization and Its Emotional Impacts among Female Nursing and Non-Nursing Students

Background: The increasing internet utilization is associated with various disadvantages. Online cyberbullying and harassment victimization is one of these disadvantages that pose negative emotional consequences. Aim: This study aimed to detect the prevalence of online cyberbullying and harassment victimization amongst nursing students from El-Fayoum University in comparison to students from other faculties at the same university. In addition to figuring out the most significant correlates of victimization and its emotional consequences. Subjects and methods: A total of 308 female nursing students and 320 female non-nursing students from El-Fayoum University participated in this cross-sectional survey. For data collection, а self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed. The questionnaire included 3 sections; personal characters of the included students, online cyberbullying and harassment victimization during the past year, and the emotional consequences of victimization. Results: Of the surveyed female university students, 84 (27.3%) of the nursing students and 88 (27.5%) of the non-nursing students stated online harassment victimization during the past year, with no statistically significant differences between both groups (Р>0.05). Almost two-thirds of the victimized students from nursing and non-nursing faculties reported online harassment, victimization more than once with no statistically significant differences between both groups (Р>0.05). Urban residence and more hours of internet use per day did not correlate with the prevalence of online harassment victimization (Р>0.05) but associated with frequent exposure (РConclusion: Female university students from nursing and non-nursing faculties were exposed to online cyberbullying and harassment victimization in recognizable rates. Recommendations: Further studies on the coping techniques to online harassment victimization should be conducted. Interventional programs to increase awareness regarding the windows of interference against online harassment according to the Egyptian Penal Code to reduce such intrusions and minimize their emotional effects should be considered.

The Korean eHealth Literacy Scale (K-eHEALS): Reliability and Validity Testing in Younger Adults Recruited Online.

BackgroundIn this digital era, eHealth literacy is an essential skill set to leverage health information available online to promote health outcomes. South Korea has an advanced health information technology infrastructure, including widespread use of the internet and mobile phones. A few studies have explored eHealth literacy in South Korea using translated versions of the eHEALS; however, they were not fully validated. A unified reliable and valid assessment tool is critical to assess and enhance the eHealth literacy level across the population.ObjectiveThe aim was to develop a Korean version of eHealth Literacy Scale (K-eHEALS) and evaluate its reliability and validity employing healthy young adults in Korea.MethodsThe K-eHEALS was developed based on eHEALS, a widely used tool that measures eHealth literacy, and was validated using a sample of 500 young adults recruited from a pool of a Korean internet survey panel. Content validity was assessed using the content validity index (CVI) for individual items and for scale. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis and hypothesis testing. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluable the stability of the measure (n=55).ResultsBoth individual and scale CVIs were acceptable (individual CVIs>0.67; scale CVI=0.83). Single factors accounting for 50.3% of the variance in the scales were extracted revealing the unidimensional latent structure of K-eHEALS. Hypothesis testing showed significant association between eHealth literacy and hours of internet use per day, supporting the construct validity. Items of the K-eHEALS were internally consistent (Cronbach alpha=.88) and stable over a 1-month period (r=.754, P<.001).ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that K-eHEALS is a valid and reliable measure of eHealth literacy in Korean young adults. Additional studies are needed with more diverse groups of adults in Korea.