Prevalence, associated factors and impact of loneliness and interpersonal problems on internet addiction: A study in Chiang Mai medical students

摘要

IntroductionInternet addiction is common among medical students, and the prevalence is higher than the general population. Identifying and creating solutions for this problem is important. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and associated factors, particularly loneliness and interpersonal problems among Chiang Mai medical students. Materials and methodsOf 324 first to sixth year medical students, 56.8% comprised females with a mean age of 20.88 (SD 1.8). All completed questionnaires related to the objectives and activities of internet use, the Young Internet Addiction Test, the UCLA loneliness scale, and the Interpersonal Problems Inventory were employed to identify internet addiction. ResultsIn all, 36.7% of the subjects exhibited internet addiction, mostly at mild level. Amount of time used daily, loneliness and interpersonal problems were strong predictors (beta?=?0.441, p?