Prevalence of Problematic Internet Use among Spanish Adolescents

Abstract

Background: The present study aims to analyze the prevalence of the problematic Internet use (PIU) among Spanish adolescents using the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) and provide normative data. Method: The final sample consisted of a total of 1,977 (M age = 15.70, SD = 1.26, 53.7% female). Results: PIU were relatively common with many items seeing endorsement for between 6.5% and 33.1%. There were statistically significant differences both by gender. Females scored significantly more highly on four CIUS dimensions as well as total scores. With regards to age, we found statistically significant differences in preoccupation. No differences were found for the total score by age. Conclusions: Early detection strategies should be implemented in order to prevent PIU during adolescence, a critical developmental stage.

Keywords

• problematic internet use
• adolescence
• compulsive internet use scale prevalence
• normative data