Prevalence and factors associated with problematic internet use: an Italian survey among L’Aquila students.

AIM: In this study we examined the prevalence of internet addiction (IA) and its associated factors in a sample of Italian students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an observational study that involved 1403 students aged 15-24 and conducted in L’Aquila, Italy. 1129 students accepted to participate in our study and completed the Internet Addiction Test: 41% were male and the mean age of total sample was 19±2.8 years.

RESULTS: The prevalence of “average user” was 51% (95% CI: 48-54). The prevalence of “problematic user” was 23% (95% CI: 21-26). Among the students with a problematic use, 8 were addicted, the 0.7% in the whole sample. There was a significant age difference (p=0.029), but no gender difference (p=0.311) between “average users” and “problematic users”. The association of internet use and educational level (School or University) was not significant (p=0.704).

DISCUSSION: Our results showed that about one student out of 100 had an IA. Gender and educational level were not significantly associated with IA. Instead, we found a strong association with age: there was not a decrease of internet use during a lifetime, with negative consequences on quality of life.

CONCLUSION: Our study reported a percentage of 30% of problematic internet use among students. These findings suggest the importance of early detection among youth and of structured interventions that should be carried out to prevent abnormal global life functioning.