Prevalence of Internet Addiction in a Sample of Southern Italian High School Students

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of Internet Addiction (IA) in a sample of Italian high school students accounting for age, gender, place of residence, and kind of internet activity. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was administered to a sample of 1,035 high schools student...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of mental health and addiction 2014-12, Vol.12 (6), p.708-715
Main Authors: Bruno, Antonio, Scimeca, Giuseppe, Cava, Lucia, Pandolfo, Gianluca, Zoccali, Rocco A., Muscatello, Maria R.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictions
Addictive behaviors
Age
Behavior
Community and Environmental Psychology
Families & family life
Females
Gender differences
Health Psychology
Internet
Males
Medicine & Public Health
Mental disorders
Parents & parenting
Psychiatry
Psychology
Public Health
Quality of life
Rehabilitation
School districts
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Sociodemographics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of Internet Addiction (IA) in a sample of Italian high school students accounting for age, gender, place of residence, and kind of internet activity. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was administered to a sample of 1,035 high schools students (ages ranging from 13 to 22 years; 47.92 % girls) from three southern Italian cities. The prevalence of pathological Internet use in our high school students sample was 3.9 %, with males showing a higher likelihood of developing pathological Internet use. The most recurring Internet activities for excessive users were online games and online communication. No effect of age, place of residence, and region of residence was found. The results of this study reaffirm the importance of active involvement by experts dealing with addiction to implement programs for primary and secondary intervention among high school students.
ISSN:1557-1874
1557-1882
DOI:10.1007/s11469-014-9497-y