Associations between problematic Internet use and psychiatric symptoms among university students in Japan

Momoko Kitazawa; Michitaka Yoshimura; Mayu Murata; Yuka Sato-Fujimoto; Hidefumi Hitokoto; Masaru Mimura; Kazuo Tsubota; Taishiro Kishimoto

doi:10.1111/pcn.12662

Associations between problematic Internet use and psychiatric symptoms among university students in Japan

Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2018 Jul;72(7):531-539. doi: 10.1111/pcn.12662. Epub 2018 May 9.

Authors

Momoko Kitazawa¹, Michitaka Yoshimura^{1

2}, Mayu Murata³, Yuka Sato-Fujimoto⁴, Hidefumi Hitokoto^{5

6}, Masaru Mimura⁷, Kazuo Tsubota¹, Taishiro Kishimoto⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Sleep-Wake Disorders, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Student Affairs, Mie University, Mie, Japan.
⁴ Faculty of Health Sciences, Gumma Paz College, Takasaki, Japan.
⁵ Department of Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
⁷ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

PMID: 29652105
DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12662

Abstract

Aim: Research on the adverse effects of Internet use has gained importance recently. However, there is currently insufficient data on Japanese young adults' Internet use, so we conducted a survey targeting Japanese university students to research problematic Internet use (PIU). We also investigated the relationship between PIU and multiple psychiatric symptoms.

Methods: A paper-based survey was conducted at five universities in Japan. Respondents were asked to fill out self-report scales regarding their Internet dependency using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Sleep quality, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tendency, depression, and anxiety symptom data were also collected based on respective self-reports.

Results: There were 1336 responses and 1258 were included in the analysis. The mean IAT score (± SD) was 37.87 ± 12.59; and 38.2% of participants were classified as PIU, and 61.8% as non-PIU. The trend level for young women showed that they were more likely to be classified as PIU than young men (40.6% and 35.2% respectively, P = 0.05). Compared to the non-PIU group, the PIU group used the Internet longer (P < 0.001), had significantly lower sleep quality (P < 0.001), had stronger ADHD tendencies (P < 0.001), had higher Depression scores (P < 0.001), and had higher Trait-Anxiety scores (P < 0.001). Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors that contributed to an increased risk of PIU were: being female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52), being older (OR = 1.17), having poor sleep quality (OR = 1.52), having ADHD tendencies (OR = 2.70), having depression (OR = 2.24), and having anxiety tendencies (OR = 1.43).

Conclusion: We found a high PIU prevalence among Japanese young adults. The factors that predicted PIU were: female sex, older age, poor sleep quality, ADHD tendencies, depression, and anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; depression; problematic Internet use; sleep disorder.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Anxiety / epidemiology*
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / epidemiology*
Behavior, Addictive / epidemiology*
Depression / epidemiology*
Female
Humans
Internet*
Japan / epidemiology
Male
Sex Factors
Sleep Wake Disorders / epidemiology*
Students / statistics & numerical data*
Universities
Young Adult