Keywords
internet, addiction, depression, anxiety, stress, personality, adolescence, medical undergraduates
This article is included in the Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research collection.
internet, addiction, depression, anxiety, stress, personality, adolescence, medical undergraduates
In today’s day and age there are 5 billion internet users worldwide and around 622 million in 2020 in India alone (according to the IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2020 report). Most of our day-to-day work is directly or indirectly associated with internet be it for study purposes, online shopping, interpersonal communication or even distracting a toddler. The research on its addiction is on the rise and is an established concern. Studies suggest that approximately 20% to 40% of students in India are at a risk for internet addiction (IA).1 An individual could be so engrossed that they land up disregarding areas of their life.2 Research indicates that adolescents with internet addiction may, neglect other creative activities and if familial altercations present, peers involved in substance abuse, or living in rural areas could be the factors associated with increased Internet addiction which in turn is associated with poor mental health status and low self-esteem.3 In a study when subjects were screened for depression using the BDI, less than one third (30.2%) of the total participants were positive for depression. This finding is also in line with the global literature, 27 and a little higher than that reported.4 A connection with internet addiction and the changes it brings to personality is something to dig more into, even though an association was found that people with internet addiction were self-reliant, preferred solitary activities and tend to restrict their social activities and its association with psychiatric conditions,5 is more frequent than expected. People with internet addiction obtained higher ranking in depression, anxiety, and lower rank on global functioning relative to healthy controls. They used impulsive coping mechanisms, and experienced more socio-emotional impairment.6 In this study we will be specifically aiming towards deleterious effects internet addiction has left on the lives of medical undergraduate students to help them identify at first if it is a problem thereafter to assess for association with psychiatric illness.
The internet being a part of our day to day lives. Now to an extent that we are dependent on it. According to the existing data where 622 million users were found in India alone in 2020, which is a huge population that needs to be looked over as to assess how its overuse is causing an effect on people and to what extent is leaving a permanent mark on our lives by altering people’s personality and making people more vulnerable towards psychiatric illnesses like anxiety and depression. Therefore, it becomes all the more necessary, even though these parameters have been researched individually, to relate the psychiatric co-morbidities that are associated with internet addiction and the implications it has on a person’s personality.
Material and methods
Study design: Cross sectional study.
Study population: Undergraduate medical students of Jawaharlal Nehru medical college Wardha.
Type of sampling: Convenience sampling.
Formula used: Krejcie-Morgan Formula
At 95% confidence level with degree of freedom 1, the chi-square value (x2) is equal to 3.84 (standard value from the table)
e = margin of error (5%) = 0.05
P = Population proportion = 50% = 0.5
N = Population size = Number of undergraduate students = 1000
Therefore, the number of students needed in the study (n) is 300.
Reference: Krejcie, R.V., and Morgan, D.W., (1970), Determining sample size for research activities, Educational and Psychological Measurements, pp. 607-610.
Young’s Internet addiction test
The 20-item test gauges the extent of internet addiction. It was designed to be a diagnostic tool based on DSM 1V. In this assessment, greater severity is indicated by a higher score. A score of 0–30 shows average internet use, 31–49 indicates mild internet use, 50–79 indicates moderate internet use, and 80–100 indicates severe online dependence.7
DASS-21
It is known as the depression anxiety stress scale and it was formulated to assess these psychiatric illness.8
Brief big five inventory scales
This test is applied when the personality of a subject needs to be assessed. It consists of five factors: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and stress tolerance. Personality tests that are based on this model assess as to which trait a person lies in.9
All the results will be calculated using SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics will be performed over mean and standard deviation median and range for quantitative assessment of the parameters & amp; qualitative assessment will be performed for finding prevalence of internet addiction, personality traits in frequency (%). Analytical results will be calculated using a Chi square test for finding association between prevalence of Internet Addiction & personality traits among depression, anxiety & stress over mild moderate & amp; severe category. Different scales (Young Internet Addiction test, DASS 21. Brief big five inventory scale) for assessment will be analysed and will be correlated using a person’s correlation. A free version of this software called Deducer can be used to corroborate the results.10
We’ll be able to determine the incidence of internet addiction among medical students, learn about the personality attributes of those individuals, and link it to psychiatric co-morbidities including depression, anxiety, and stress.
Dissemination: The study will be published in an indexed journal.
Study status: Study is yet to commence.
Joseph et al.,1 in 2021 concluded using the Young Internet Addiction Test (Y-IAT) Studies carried out in 19 states of India were responsible for the 19.9% incidence of IA. Widyant et al.2 in 2005 assessed susceptible populations for overuse of the Internet. According to the findings of this study, online socialisation was a major factor in the emergence of problematic Internet use. Loneliness also played a larger role than depression in the development of problematic Internet use, and reports of the drawbacks of excessive internet use (forgetting about work and social life, failing relationships, losing control, etc.), which are similar to those of other, more well-established addictions. Yen et al.3 Older individuals (>15 years old) had the highest rate of Internet addiction, followed by younger boys (15 years old), according to a 2009 study that found the discriminating characteristics for adolescents with Internet addiction. The reasons that contributed to the population’s rising rate of internet addiction included depression and inadequate family supervision. Paudel et al.4 His research on undergraduate students in Nepal in 2021 came to the conclusion that internet addiction was linked to both depression and poor sleep. Of the study’s participants, 49.8%, 45.5%, and 4.7%, respectively, reported moderate internet use, mild issues caused by internet use, and severe problems caused by internet use. According to the PSQI cut-off score of five, about 42.3% (n = 209) of participants reported having bad sleep, while approximately 30.2% (n = 149) of participants tested positive for depression using the BDI cut-off score of thirteen. Thirty two percent (30.2%) of all subjects tested positive for depression. Shaw et al.,5 in 2008 found that 52% of individuals matched the criteria for at least one personality disorder, with borderline personality disorder being the most common (24%), followed by narcissistic 19% and antisocial 19%. The criteria for a current disorder, mood disorders (24%), anxiety (19%), and psychotic disorders (14%) were met by nearly 30% of the participants. Younes et al.,6 in 2016 revealed that potential Internet addiction was associated to gender and more prevalent in men. With a mean score of 30, 16.80% of individuals appeared to be at risk for internet addiction. Additionally, it showed that 9.8% of subjects experienced clinically significant insomnia, and a direct link between sleeplessness and possible internet addiction was discovered. The number of students who experience anxiety, despair, or stress is higher among potential internet addicts, which is associated with internet addiction.
1. Confidentiality will be ensured for all participants. Prior to taking part in the process, participants must obtain written consent and will be informed that they have the option to revoke their consent at any moment, in which we shall not to include them in the study.
2. Participants will have access to a secure setting where they can communicate honestly about their illness.
3. The study’s objective will be explicitly disclosed to participants, and the sample will be chosen willingly.
4. Approval for this protocol has been gained by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research Sawangi (M) Wardha- 442107 Maharashtra, India.
No underlying data associated.
Zenodo: “A cross sectional study to assess prevalence of internet addiction and its relationship with personality traits and associated Psychiatric conditions in undergraduate medical students of Indian University”, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8207397.
This project contains the following underlying data:
• Yatika spirit checklist.docx (SPIRIT reporting guidelines).
Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).
The above mentioned authors have contributed equally to the design, concept, editing and study process for the article.
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Is the rationale for, and objectives of, the study clearly described?
Partly
Is the study design appropriate for the research question?
Partly
Are sufficient details of the methods provided to allow replication by others?
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Are the datasets clearly presented in a useable and accessible format?
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Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Reviewer Expertise: Well being.
Alongside their report, reviewers assign a status to the article:
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Version 1 11 Sep 23 |
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