Internet Addiction Based on Personality Characteristics in Medical Students

摘要

Background:TheInternethasbecomeafundamentalpartofmodernlife,ithasgivenrisetovariousproblematicbehaviors.Someofthesebehaviors,suchasprolificuseofsocialmedia,frequentemailchecking,excessiveonlinegaming,onlinebuyingandgambling,andviewingpornographycausesignificantimpairmentineverydayfunctioningofsomeindividuals.Differentresearchersstudiedpsychologicalaspectslikeimpulsivecompulsivespectrum,anxietyanddepressionininternetaddicts.Objectives:Theaimofthisstudyistoexaminetherelationshipbetweeninternetaddictionsanddifferentaspectsofpersonalityinmedicalstudents.Methods:Inthiscross,sectionalstudythepurposewastoassessall687medicalstudentsofmedicalfacultyofShirazUniversityofMedicalSciences.364studentsshowedtheircontentionforparticipatinginthestudybyfillingtheconsentform.Finally278validquestionnaireswerecollected.Theyrespondedtothedemographicquestionsinthequestionnairesuchasage,sex,maritalstatus,studentaccommodation,entranceyeartouniversity,studentresidenceplaceandalsointernetaddictiontestwasperformedandNEOfive-factorinventoryshortform(NEO-FFI)wasfilled.Results:55%ofparticipantsshowinternetaddiction,withdistributionof51.4%mild,2.9%moderateand0.4%severeaddiction.Internetaddictionandpersonalitytraitsofextraversion(Thecorrelationcoefficient=-0.118,P=0.05),agreeableness(Thecorrelationcoefficient=-0.379,P=0.001)andconscientiousness(Thecorrelationcoefficient=-0.21,P=0.001),showedsignificantnegativecorrelation,butitscorrelationwithneuroticism(Thecorrelationcoefficient=+0.2,P=0.001)wassignificantlypositive.Internetaddictionscoresamongstudentsinsemesterfiveandelevenpriortothecomprehensivebasicsciencetest(26.52?±9.8)andcomprehensivepre-internshiptest(28.57?±19.2)werehigherthantheotheracademicyears.Conclusions:TheprevalenceofInternetaddictioninthisstudywashighercomparedtosimilarstudiesinotherfieldswhichledtotheconcernsregardingtheextentoftheproblem.Moreinternetaddictionamongstudentsin4thand10thsemesterrevealstheneedforbeingefficientlytrainedinordertodealwithstressincriticalconditionandalsotomaintainpositiveacademicperformance.Correlationofsomeaspectsofpersonalitytraitswithinternetaddiction,suggestedinitialassessmentofmedicalstudentsa€?personalitybyscreeningtoolsandidentificationofpopulationsatrisk.Thismayproveaneedforfavorablemethodsforinitiationofprevention.