Internet addiction in students: prevalence and risk factors

Kuss, DJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524 and Binder, JF ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1083-7109, 2013. Internet addiction in students: prevalence and risk factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 29 (3), pp. 959-966. ISSN 0747-5632

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Abstract

The last decade has witnessed a large increase in research on the newly emerging mental health problem of Internet addiction. Rather than looking at Internet addiction per se, this study focused on particular activities on the Internet that might be potentially addictive and linked them to personality traits that might predispose individuals to Internet addiction. The aims of this study were (i) to assess the prevalence of clinically significant levels of Internet addiction, and to (ii) discern the interplay between personality traits and specific Internet uses in increasing the risk for Internet addiction. This cross-sectional online survey used data from 2,257 students of an English university. Results indicated that 3.2% of the students were classified as being addicted to the Internet. The included personality traits and uses of online activities explained 21.5% of the variance in Internet addiction. A combination of online shopping and neuroticism decreased the risk for Internet addiction, whereas a combination of online gaming and openness to experience increased it. In addition to this, frequent usage of online shopping and social online activities, high neuroticism and low agreeableness significantly increased the chances of being addicted to the Internet. Findings and their implications are discussed.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Computers in Human Behavior
Creators:	Kuss, D.J., Griffiths, M.D. and Binder, J.F.
Publisher:	Pergamon Press
Place of Publication:	Oxford
Date:	2013
Volume:	29
Number:	3
ISSN:	0747-5632
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.024 DOI
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 09:39
Last Modified:	20 Aug 2020 15:13
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/668

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