IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i14p7620-d596307.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Problematic Internet Use in a Population of Spanish University Students

Author

Listed:
  • Enrique Ramón-Arbués

    (Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Universidad San Jorge, Villanueva de Gállego, 50830 Zaragoza, Spain
    Research Group Transfercult (H27_20D), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain)

  • José Manuel Granada-López

    (Research Group Transfercult (H27_20D), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
    Department of Physiatrics and Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, C/Domingo Miral S/N, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
    Research Group Safety and Care (GIISA021), Institute of Research of Aragón, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain)

  • Blanca Martínez-Abadía

    (Occupational Health and Prevention Service, Zaragoza City Council, P° de La Mina 9, 50001 Zaragoza, Spain)

  • Emmanuel Echániz-Serrano

    (Research Group Transfercult (H27_20D), University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
    Department of Physiatrics and Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, C/Domingo Miral S/N, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain)

  • Isabel Antón-Solanas

    (Department of Physiatrics and Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, C/Domingo Miral S/N, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
    Research Group Nursing Research in Primary Care in Aragón (GENIAPA) (GIIS094), Institute of Research of Aragón, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain)

  • Michael Nash

    (School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland)

Abstract

(1) Background: To examine the prevalence, and associated factors of, problematic Internet use in a sample of Spanish university students. (2) Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of a convenience sample of 698 university students. Self-esteem, alcohol consumption, perceived social support, depression, anxiety, stress and problematic Internet use were evaluated using the Rosenberg, CAGE, DUKE-UNC-11, DASS-21 and Young’s Internet Addiction Test, respectively. (3) Results: Problematic internet use was reported by 21% of respondents. Risk of problematic Internet use was independently associated with the preferred use of the smartphone, time of exposure to the Internet, less perceived social support, problematic alcohol consumption and symptoms of stress and anxiety. We found significant association between problematic internet use and time of exposure to the Internet, residential status, alcohol consumption, self-esteem, perceived social support and psychological distress, after bivariate analysis. (4) Conclusions: A considerable prevalence of problematic Internet use was found; in our sample problematic Internet use was associated with stress, alcohol consumption, anxiety and perceived social support. Strategies aimed at the early identification of problematic Internet use may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of the university student population.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrique Ramón-Arbués & José Manuel Granada-López & Blanca Martínez-Abadía & Emmanuel Echániz-Serrano & Isabel Antón-Solanas & Michael Nash, 2021. "Prevalence and Factors Associated with Problematic Internet Use in a Population of Spanish University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-12, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7620-:d:596307
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7620/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/14/7620/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rianne van Dijk & Inge E. van der Valk & Helen G. M. Vossen & Susan Branje & Maja Deković, 2021. "Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents from Divorced Families: The Role of Family Factors and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Hsiao-Ching Chen & Jiun-Yi Wang & Ying-Lien Lin & Shang-Yu Yang, 2020. "Association of Internet Addiction with Family Functionality, Depression, Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem among Early Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Daria J. Kuss & Mark D. Griffiths, 2011. "Online Social Networking and Addiction—A Review of the Psychological Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-25, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ünverdi, Seher & Sarıkaya Karabudak, Seher, 2025. "Relationship between parents’ problematic internet use levels and child abuse potential," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daria J. Kuss & Lydia Harkin & Eiman Kanjo & Joel Billieux, 2018. "Problematic Smartphone Use: Investigating Contemporary Experiences Using a Convergent Design," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Melina A. Throuvala & Mark D. Griffiths & Mike Rennoldson & Daria J. Kuss, 2019. "A ‘Control Model’ of Social Media Engagement in Adolescence: A Grounded Theory Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Wen-Huai Hsieh & Dong-Her Shih & Po-Yuan Shih & Shih-Bin Lin, 2019. "An Ensemble Classifier with Case-Based Reasoning System for Identifying Internet Addiction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Majid Altuwairiqi & Nan Jiang & Raian Ali, 2019. "Problematic Attachment to Social Media: Five Behavioural Archetypes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-36, June.
    5. Marta Tremolada & Lucio Silingardi & Livia Taverna, 2022. "Social Networking in Adolescents: Time, Type and Motives of Using, Social Desirability, and Communication Choices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Zhang Jie & Othman Bin Ibrahim, 2025. "Extending Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict TikTok Addiction Behavior among Chinese Users," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(3), pages 62-82, March.
    7. Alexis M. McCarroll & Bree E. Holtz & Dar Meshi, 2021. "Searching for Social Media Addiction: A Content Analysis of Top Websites Found through Online Search Engines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Taesoo Cho & Taeyoung Cho & Hyunjun Choi & Sungchul Yang & Hao Zhang, 2023. "User Satisfaction Study for Sustainability of YouTube Content Quality: Focusing on Ski Technology," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-15, January.
    9. Kai W. Müller & Jennifer Werthmann & Manfred E. Beutel & Klaus Wölfling & Boris Egloff, 2021. "Maladaptive Personality Traits and Their Interaction with Outcome Expectancies in Gaming Disorder and Internet-Related Disorders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-11, April.
    10. Kane J. Smith & Gurpreet Dhillon & Brigid A. Otoo, 2022. "iGen User (over) Attachment to Social Media: Reframing the Policy Intervention Conversation," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1989-2006, December.
    11. Yun-Hsuan Chang & Yun-Ting Lee & Shulan Hsieh, 2019. "Internet Interpersonal Connection Mediates the Association between Personality and Internet Addiction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-11, September.
    12. Lucia Maria Lotrean & Dragutu Florinel Sorodoc & Claudia Felicia Pop & Aida Puia, 2025. "Prevalence, co-occurrence and associated factors with regard to interpersonal peer violence and self-directed violence among Romanian adolescents," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    13. Élodie Verseillié & Stéphanie Laconi & Henri Chabrol, 2020. "Pathological Traits Associated to Facebook and Twitter among French Users," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-9, March.
    14. Michelle Slone & Ayelet Peer & Michael Egozi, 2025. "Adolescent Vulnerability to Internet Media Exposure: The Role of Self-Mastery in Mitigating Post-Traumatic Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(4), pages 1-20, April.
    15. Shuo Zhang & Tat Y. Chan & Xueming Luo & Xiaoyi Wang, 2022. "Time-Inconsistent Preferences and Strategic Self-Control in Digital Content Consumption," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(3), pages 616-636, May.
    16. Xavier Carbonell & Andrés Chamarro & Ursula Oberst & Beatriz Rodrigo & Mariona Prades, 2018. "Problematic Use of the Internet and Smartphones in University Students: 2006–2017," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-13, March.
    17. Chin Lay Gan & Yi Yong Lee & Tze Wei Liew, 2024. "Fishing for phishy messages: predicting phishing susceptibility through the lens of cyber-routine activities theory and heuristic-systematic model," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    18. da Silva, Filipa Pires & Jerónimo, Helena Mateus & Henriques, Paulo Lopes & Ribeiro, Joana, 2024. "Impact of digital burnout on the use of digital consumer platforms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Kuan-Ying Hsieh & Ray C. Hsiao & Yi-Hsin Yang & Kun-Hua Lee & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2019. "Relationship between Self-Identity Confusion and Internet Addiction among College Students: The Mediating Effects of Psychological Inflexibility and Experiential Avoidance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-11, September.
    20. Juyeong Lee & Woosung Kim, 2021. "Prediction of Problematic Smartphone Use: A Machine Learning Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7620-:d:596307. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.