Sociodemographic factors related to internet addiction among adolescents in Serbia

Ana Pjevač; Teodora Safiye; Mirjana Jovanović

doi:10.2298/VSP240307037P

Ana Pjevač University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kragujevac, Serbia
Teodora Safiye State University of Novi Pazar, Department of Psychology, Novi Pazar, Srbija
Mirjana Jovanović University Clinical Hospital Center of Kragujevac, Psychiatric Clinic, Serbia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/VSP240307037P

Keywords: adolescent;, internet use;, surveys and questionnaires;, technology addiction

Abstract

Background/Aim. The term “internet addiction” (IA) describes a compulsive behavior associated with any online activity that disrupts everyday social interactions. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors and predictors of the development of IA in adolescents. Methods. Data were collected using an online form consisting of demographic data, questions related to the use of the Internet, and the Internet Addiction Test (version for adolescents). Results. A total of 1,669 respondents participated in this research; 1,040 of them (62.3%) were female, 590 (35.4%) were male, and 39 (2.3%) did not want to declare their gender. The average age of the respondents was 15.09 ± 1.757 years. Significant factors in the multivariate factor analysis model were age, addictive substance use frequency, purpose, and time spent on the Internet (p < 0.05). Analysis results indicate that the risk of developing IA was higher if an adolescent spent 1–3 hrs and more than 3 hrs daily on the Internet (2.8 and 8.2 times, respectively). With increasing age numbers for one unit (year), the risk of developing IA was decreasing by 11.3%. Conclusion. According to the findings of the present study, the relationship between IA and age, addictive substance use frequency, purpose, and time spent on the Internet has been proven. These results should be highlighted so that educators and all those who work with children could create targeted treatments to prevent the development of IA in adolescents.

References

Bickham DS. Current Research and Viewpoints on Inter-net Addiction in Adolescents. Curr Pediatr Rep 2021; 9(1): 1–10.

Lin MP. Prevalence of Internet Addiction during the COVID-19 Outbreak and Its Risk Factors among Junior High School Students in Taiwan. Int J Environ Res Pub-lic Health 2020; 17(22): 8547.

Shek DTL, Yu L, Sun RCF, Fan Y, et al. Internet Addic-tion. In: Pfaff DW, Volkow ND, Rubenstein J, editors. Neu-roscience in the 21st Century. 3rd ed. NY: Springer; 2022. pp. 4131–72.

Young KS, de Abreu CN. Internet addiction: A handbook and guide to evaluation and treatment. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc; 2010. p. 312.

Cao F, Su L. Internet addiction among Chinese adoles-cents: prevalence and psychological features. Child Care Health Dev 2007; 33(3): 275–81.

Weinstein A, Lejoyeux M. Internet addiction or excessive internet use. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2010; 36(5): 277–83.

Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD, Binder JF. Internet addiction in stu-dents: Prevalence and risk factors. Comput Hum Behav 2013; 29(3): 959–66.

The World Bank. Individuals using the Internet (% of population). International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Data-base [Internet]. Washington: The World Bank; 2022 [cit-ed on 2024 April 10; accessed on 2024 April 16]. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS

Ac-Nikolić E, Zarić D, Nićiforović-Šurković O. Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Schoolchildren in Novi Sad. Srp Arh Celok Lek 2015; 143(11–2): 719–25.

Živković S, Stojković N. Cyberspace – addiction or not: a limited case study of the Internet addiction among stu-dent population. Acad J Interdiscip Stud 2013; 2(11): 150–9.

Dukanac V, Džamonja-Ignjatović T, Milanović M, Popović-Ćitić B. Differences in temperament and character dimen-sions in adolescents with various conduct disorders. Vojnosanit Pregl 2016; 73(4): 353–9.

Černja I, Vejmelka L, Rajter M. Internet addiction test: Croatian preliminary study. BMC Psychiatry 2019; 19(1): 388.

World Medical Association. World Medical Association Dec-laration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA 2013; 310(20): 2191–4.

Jhala J, Sharma R. Internet Use Among Adolescents. J In-dian Assoc Child Adolesc Ment Health 2016; 12(1): 36–59.

Cheng C, Li AY. Internet addiction prevalence and quality of (real) life: a meta-analysis of 31 nations across seven world regions. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2014; 17(12): 755–60.

Kolaib AMA, Alhazmi AHH, Kulaib MMA. Prevalence of internet addiction and its associated factors among medi-cal students at Taiba University, Saudi Arabia. J Family Med Prim Care 2020; 9(9): 4797–800.

Karacic S, Oreskovic S. Internet Addiction Through the Phase of Adolescence: A Questionnaire Study. JMIR Ment Health 2017; 4(2): e11.

Jorgenson AG, Hsiao RC, Yen CF. Internet Addiction and Other Behavioral Addictions. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 2016; 25(3): 509–20.

Durkee T, Carli V, Floderus B, Wasserman C, Sarchiapone M, Apter A, et al. Pathological Internet Use and Risk-Behaviors among European Adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016; 13(3): 294.