Internet use, abuse, and dependence among students at a southeastern regional university.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess Internet use, abuse, and dependence. PARTICIPANTS: 411 undergraduate students. RESULTS: Ninety percent of participants reported daily Internet use. Approximately half of the sample met criteria for Internet abuse, and one-quarter met criteria for Internet dependence. Men and women did not differ on the mean amount of time accessing the Internet each day; however, the reasons for accessing the Internet differed between the 2 groups. Depression was correlated with more frequent use of the Internet to meet people, socially experiment, and participate in chat rooms, and with less frequent face-to-face socialization. In addition, individuals meeting criteria for Internet abuse and dependence endorsed more depressive symptoms, more time online, and less face-to-face socialization than did those not meeting the criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health and student affairs professionals should be alert to the problems associated with Internet overuse, especially as computers become an integral part of college life.

Author information

Author/s: Fortson, Beverly L (BL); Scotti, Joseph R (JR); Chen, Yi-Chuen (YC); Malone, Judith (J); Del Ben, Kevin S (KS);

Affiliation: West Virginia University, USA. beverlyf(-atsign-)usca.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of American college health : J of ACH (J Am Coll Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2007 Sep-Oct; vol 56 (issue 2) : pp 137-44

Dates: Created 2007/10/30; Completed 2008/01/08;

PMID: 17967759, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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