Abstract
In today’s society, the internet has become a necessity rather than a privilege. The increasing number of internet users, particularly among children and adolescents, raises concerns about preventing addiction in this young generation. Internet addiction can have negative effects on the physical, mental, and social health of adolescents. This study aims to investigate the factors associated with internet addiction and examine how family, friends, and school connections relate to adolescent internet addiction. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2020 to March 2020 involving 2,048 students in secondary schools across all five districts in Penang, Malaysia. Data from the study was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The level of connectedness that adolescents felt towards their family, friends, and school was evaluated using a validated bilingual version of The Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness. Furthermore, internet addiction among adolescents was assessed using a validated Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test. Of all the participants in the study, 53% belonged
to the early adolescence group while the remainder were part of middle adolescence group. On average, study participants were 14.95 years (SD: 1.02). A majority identified as Malay (83.5%), followed by Indian (9.9%), Chinese (5.8%), and others making up for only 0.8%. Overall findings indicate that approximately 66% of adolescents exhibited symptoms indicating internet addiction. In terms of social connectedness, the majority of adolescents were highly connected with their mother (80.2%), father (67.1%), siblings
(68.8%), friends (62.4%), teachers (64.4%) as well as school (58.0%). However, only 48.2% demonstrated high connectedness with peers in school. Factors associated with internet addiction among adolescents include older adolescents (OR = 1.276, 95% CI: 1.142, 1.426), schooling in Seberang Perai Selatan district (OR= 2.215, 95% CI: 1.444, 3,400), comes from high-income families (OR = 1.681, 95% CI: 1.144, 2.468), have history of smoking (OR= 2.128, 95% CI = 1.385 - 3.270), have personal gadgets at the age of 7 to 12 years (OR = 2.143, 95% CI:1.522, 3.016) and before 7 years (OR= 3.581, 95% CI: 1.633, 7.851) and spend more than 3 hours daily online (OR = 2.785, 95% CI: 2.224, 3.487). Indians were found to be a protective factor for internet addiction among adolescents (OR = 0.553, 95% CI: 0.387, 0.790). In terms of social connectedness, low connectedness with fathers (OR = 1.329, 95% CI: 1.052, 1.678), school (OR = 1.489, 95% CI: 1.177, 1.885) and peers in school (OR = 1.415, 95% CI: 1.123, 1.783) as well as high connectedness with friends (OR = 1.321, 95% CI = 1.055 - 1.654) were associated with internet addiction among adolescents. This study suggests that it is important to enhance public awareness and implement early screening measures for internet addiction. Additionally, emphasising the role of fathers in adolescents’ lives and providing a safe and supportive environment in schools may help reduce internet
addiction among this population.
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BibTeX (Download)
@phdthesis{drph-Noor-Azwani-Raduan-2024,
title = {Prevalence and Factors Associated with Internet Addiction Among Adolescents in Penang: A Cross Sectional Study},
author = {Noor Azwani Raduan},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-10-07},
abstract = {In today’s society, the internet has become a necessity rather than a privilege. The increasing number of internet users, particularly among children and adolescents, raises concerns about preventing addiction in this young generation. Internet addiction can have negative effects on the physical, mental, and social health of adolescents. This study aims to investigate the factors associated with internet addiction and examine how family, friends, and school connections relate to adolescent internet addiction. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2020 to March 2020 involving 2,048 students in secondary schools across all five districts in Penang, Malaysia. Data from the study was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The level of connectedness that adolescents felt towards their family, friends, and school was evaluated using a validated bilingual version of The Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness. Furthermore, internet addiction among adolescents was assessed using a validated Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test. Of all the participants in the study, 53% belonged
to the early adolescence group while the remainder were part of middle adolescence group. On average, study participants were 14.95 years (SD: 1.02). A majority identified as Malay (83.5%), followed by Indian (9.9%), Chinese (5.8%), and others making up for only 0.8%. Overall findings indicate that approximately 66% of adolescents exhibited symptoms indicating internet addiction. In terms of social connectedness, the majority of adolescents were highly connected with their mother (80.2%), father (67.1%), siblings
(68.8%), friends (62.4%), teachers (64.4%) as well as school (58.0%). However, only 48.2% demonstrated high connectedness with peers in school. Factors associated with internet addiction among adolescents include older adolescents (OR = 1.276, 95% CI: 1.142, 1.426), schooling in Seberang Perai Selatan district (OR= 2.215, 95% CI: 1.444, 3,400), comes from high-income families (OR = 1.681, 95% CI: 1.144, 2.468), have history of smoking (OR= 2.128, 95% CI = 1.385 - 3.270), have personal gadgets at the age of 7 to 12 years (OR = 2.143, 95% CI:1.522, 3.016) and before 7 years (OR= 3.581, 95% CI: 1.633, 7.851) and spend more than 3 hours daily online (OR = 2.785, 95% CI: 2.224, 3.487). Indians were found to be a protective factor for internet addiction among adolescents (OR = 0.553, 95% CI: 0.387, 0.790). In terms of social connectedness, low connectedness with fathers (OR = 1.329, 95% CI: 1.052, 1.678), school (OR = 1.489, 95% CI: 1.177, 1.885) and peers in school (OR = 1.415, 95% CI: 1.123, 1.783) as well as high connectedness with friends (OR = 1.321, 95% CI = 1.055 - 1.654) were associated with internet addiction among adolescents. This study suggests that it is important to enhance public awareness and implement early screening measures for internet addiction. Additionally, emphasising the role of fathers in adolescents’ lives and providing a safe and supportive environment in schools may help reduce internet
addiction among this population.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
