Abstract

Background: Internet addiction (IA) among university engineering students and its association with psychological distress can impact their educational progress, academic competence, and long-term career goals. Thus, there is a need to investigate the IA among engineering students. Objectives: This study was a first such attempt to explore internet use behaviors, IA, among a large group of engineering students from India, and its association with psychological distress primarily depressive symptoms. Methods: One thousand eighty six engineering students aged 18–21 years pursuing bachelors in engineering from the south Indian city of Mangalore participated in the study. The socio-educational and internet use behaviors data sheet was used to gather demographic information and patterns of internet use, Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was utilized to assess IA, and Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) assessed psychological distress primarily depressive symptoms. Results: Among the total N = 1086, 27.1% of engineering students met criterion for mild addictive internet use, 9.7% for moderate addictive internet use, and 0.4% for severe addiction to internet. IA was higher among engineering students who were male, staying in rented accommodations, accessed internet several times a day, spent more than 3 h per day on internet, and had psychological distress. Gender, duration of use, time spent per day, frequency of internet use, and psychological distress (depressive symptoms) predicted IA. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of engineering students have IA which can be detrimental for their educational progress in university studies and long-term career goals. Early identification and management of IA and psychological distress among engineering students is crucial.

Details

Title
Internet use patterns, internet addiction, and psychological distress among engineering university students: A study from India
Author
Anand, Nitin 1 ; Jain, Praveen 2 ; Prabhu, Santosh 3 ; Thomas, Christofer 4 ; Bhat, Aneesh 5 ; Prathyusha, P 6 ; Bhat, Shrinivasa 2 ; Young, Kimberly 7 ; Cherian, Anish 8 

 Department of Clinical Psychology, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 
 Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka 
 Department of Psychiatry, K. S. Hegde Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka 
 Department of Physiology, Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science and Research Center, Bengaluru, Karnataka 
 Department of Psychiatry, MIMER Medical College, Talegoan Dabhade, Pune, Maharashtra 
 Department of Biostatistics, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 
 St. Bonaventure University, New York 
 Psychiatric Social Work, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka 
Pages
458-467
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Sep/Oct 2018
Publisher
Sage Publications, New Delhi India
ISSN
02537176
e-ISSN
09751564
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2102339383
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.