Investigation of the relationship between internet addiction and demographic characteristics, depression and loneliness in İnönü University students

Material and methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on 01.10.2017-31.12.2017 by applying questionnaires to university students through face-to-face interviews. The demographic characteristics of 485 students between 18 and 25 years of age studied in İnönü University Faculty of Medicine, Education and Engineering faculties and internet addiction. The Young Internet Addiction Scale (SES) was used to evaluate the internet addiction with the sociodemographic information form, Beck Depression Scale (SES) to assess the depression status and a questionnaire consisting of 81 questions including the UCLA Loneliness Scale (SRS). In the statistical analysis of the data, IBM SPSS Statistics Version 17.0 package program was used. Categorical measurements are summarized as number and percentage, and numerical measurements as mean and standard deviation. Statistical significance was analyzed by Chi Square, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, Pearson Correlation Coefficient. The statistical significance level was taken as p <0,05. Results: 285 (41.6%) male and 202 (41.6%) female, total 485 students were included in the study. The mean age of the students was 21.19 ±1,85 years. There were 205 (42.3%) people in engineering, 121 (24.9%) in education and 159 (32.9%) in medical school. The mean score of the Internet Addiction Scale (SDS) was 32 ±15, the mean Beck Depression Scale (BDI) was 12 ±10, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (SIS) score was 41±7. According to internet addiction levels, 422 (87%) students were normal internet users and 63 (13%) students were identified as risky internet users. While internet addiction and loneliness differed significantly between genders (p <0.05), depression did not differ significantly between sexes (p = 0.711). There was a significant relationship between internet addiction and depression and loneliness (p <0.001). Conclusion: There is a statistically significant relationship between internet addiction and depression and loneliness. As primary care physicians, we should know that internet addiction is an important public health problem. As a result of internet addiction, psychiatric problems such as depression and loneliness may develop, and individuals with psychiatric disorders may develop internet addiction. To raise awareness of families; We should warn them to increase communication with their children, to enable their children to socialize and to take measures related to internet addiction. Multicentre studies should be conducted with wider kits and screening methods should be developed for early diagnosis of internet addiction. Keywords: Internet, addiction, student, depression, loneliness