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.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer
Details
1 Department of Clinical Psychology, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka
2 Department of Psychiatry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka
3 Department of Psychiatry, K. S. Hegde Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka
4 Department of Physiology, Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science and Research Center, Bengaluru, Karnataka
5 Department of Psychiatry, MIMER Medical College, Talegoan Dabhade, Pune, Maharashtra
6 Department of Biostatistics, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka
7 St. Bonaventure University, New York
8 Psychiatric Social Work, Dr. MV Govindaswamy Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka