Is Mental Health of College Students Affected By Internet?: A Cross Sectional Study in Solapur City

Abstract

Introduction: With the rise of new-generation gadgets, the risk of “internet addiction” is emerging as a significant behavioural addiction pandemic worldwide. Though internet has become the largest way for information transfer and communication it is showing adverse effects on mental health of the users which is observed in major cities of country. Hence, the study is proposed to find the prevalence of internet addiction and its effects on mental health among senior college students. Material and methods: A cross sectional community based descriptive study was carried out in randomly selected two senior colleges in the Solapur city with sample size was 360. Pretested Young’s 20-item IAT scale was used to determine internet addiction. DASS 21 questionnaire was administered to assess the depression, stress and anxiety levels in students. Results: Out of total 360 students, 166 (46.11%) were male while 194 (53.89%) were female. Prevalence of mild internet addiction was 38.06% and moderate internet addiction was 20.56%. Association of YIAT score levels of students and depression in the students was studied and it was found that YIAT scores levels are strongly associated with depression, stress and anxiety. Conclusion: Increasing internet addiction in college students is associated with depression, stress and anxiety in them and needs urgent attention.

Keywords

• internet
• DASS21
• college students
• depression