Social Health and Behavior (Jan 2019)
The prevalence and predictive factors of internet addiction and its relationship with emotional intelligence among medical students
Abstract
Introduction: Abundant applications of the Internet in recent years have resulted in emerging of a phenomenon known as “Internet addiction.” The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and its relationship with emotional intelligence (EI) among students of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out on 325 medical students who were studying at five faculties of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (School of Medical, School of Paramedical Sciences, School of Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, and School of Dentistry). In order to collect data, three instruments were used including (1) a checklist for demographic characteristics, (2) IA test, and (3) Schutte EI Scale. Descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, and standard deviation), Pearson correlation, and multivariate linear regression were performed to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of moderate and severe levels of IA was reported to be 12% and 0.3%, respectively. Moreover, 31.4% of the students were normal users and 56.3% had a mild addiction to the Internet. The results also showed an inverse and significant relationship between IA and EI (r = −0.163, P = 0.003). Regression model showed that Internet usage time (β = 0.34, P < 0.001), total EI (β = −0.2, P = 0.002), and using social media (β = 0.18, P = 0.007) significantly predicted the prevalence of IA at all levels of the severity of IA. Conclusion: The results of this study showed an inverse and significant relationship between IA and EI among medical students. Therefore, we can take an effective step to increase students' emotion and improve their coping skills by holding special workshops and classes so as to prevent them from IA.
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