The Frequency and Related Factors of Internet Addiction in Externship and Internship Students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2018

Abstract

Introduction: Internet addiction is a global phenomenon with an increasing trend in university students. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and factors affecting internet addiction in externship and internship medical students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2018.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on externship and internship medical students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2018 during a 6-month period using convenience sampling method. In this study, the valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire of “Kimberly-Young internet addiction questionnaire” was used to collect the research data. The attainable scores in this questionnaire range from 20 to 100, so that  higher scores show greater dependence on the Internet. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using the Chi-square test. A significant level was set at lower than 0.05.

Results: Among the participants, 46 participants (18.4%) were normal users, 127 (50.8%) were at risk, and 77 (30.8%) were addicted to the Internet. Among the demographic factors, a significant relationship was found between gender (p = 0.041) and educational level (p = 0.024) with Internet addiction.

Conclusion: policymakers should pay particular attention to the issue of Internet addiction in medical students, since Internet addiction may cause these students to neglect their critical duties during externship and internship. In this regard, holding effective training courses can be helpful.