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The prevalence of computer and Internet addiction
among pupils
Rozpowszechnienie uzależnienia od komputera i Internetu
Krzysztof ZboralskiACD, Agata OrzechowskaDEF, Monika TalarowskaDE,
Anna DarmoszAB, Aneta JaniakGF, Marcin JaniakGF, Antoni FlorkowskiD,
Piotr GałeckiADE
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Medical University, Łódź, Poland
Summary
Introduction:
Media have an infl uence on the human psyche similar to the addictive actions of psychoactive
substances or gambling. Computer overuse is claimed to be a cause of psychiatric disturbances
such as computer and Internet addiction. It has not yet been recognized as a disease, but it evo-
kes increasing controversy and results in mental disorders commonly defi ned as computer and
Internet addiction.
Material/Methods:
This study was based on a diagnostic survey in which 120 subjects participated. The partici-
pants were pupils of three kinds of schools: primary, middle, and secondary school (high scho-
ol). Information for this study was obtained from a questionnaire prepared by the authors as
well as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Psychological Inventory of Aggression
Syndrome (IPSA-II).
Results:
The results confi rmed that every fourth pupil was addicted to the Internet. Internet addiction was
very common among the youngest users of computers and the Internet, especially those who had
no brothers and sisters or came from families with some kind of problems. Moreover, more fre-
quent use of the computer and the Internet was connected with higher levels of aggression and
anxiety.
Discussion:
Because computer and Internet addiction already constitute a real danger, it is worth considering
preventive activities to treat this phenomenon. It is also necessary to make the youth and their
parents aware of the dangers of uncontrolled Internet use and pay attention to behavior connec-
ted with Internet addiction.
Key words: computer and Internet addiction • aggression • anxiety
Streszczenie
Wstęp:
Wpływ mediów na psychikę człowieka może wyrażać się powstaniem nowych uzależnień, które
przypominają uzależnienia od środków psychoaktywnych czy hazardu. Uzależnienie od kompute-
ra i Internetu nie zostało jak dotąd ofi cjalnie uznane za oddzielne jednostki chorobowe, ale budzi
coraz więcej kontrowersji i jest zjawiskiem przyczyniającym sie do powstawania zaburzeń psy-
chicznych, nazywanych potocznie komputeroholizmem, siecioholizmem, internetohilizmem.
Materiał/Metody:
Badania zostały przeprowadzone metodą sondażu diagnostycznego z udziałem 120 uczniów
z trzech łódzkich szkół: podstawowej, gimnazjum i liceum. W celu zebrania danych potrzebnych
do badań wykorzystano kwestionariusz w wykonaniu własnym autorów, Inwentarz Stanu i Cechy
Lęku (STAI) oraz Inwentarz Psychologiczny Syndromu Agresji (IPSA-II).
Received: 2008.04.28
Accepted: 2009.01.20
Published: 2009.02.02
Authors’ Contribution:
A Study Design
B Data Collection
C Statistical Analysis
D Data Interpretation
E Manuscript Preparation
F Literature Search
G Funds Collection
8
Original Article
www.phmd.p l
Postepy Hig Med Dosw. (online), 2009; 63: 8-12
e-ISSN 1732-2693
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INTRODUCTION
Addiction is a behavioral disturbance characterized by a
strong need to consume specifi c substances or do some-
thing repeatedly. Using some substances or doing the same
thing very often results in different behaviors, which is why
we can talk about addiction, which is more serious, or abo-
ut abuse, which is less serious. Repeated consumption of
specifi c substances or the performance of the same kind of
action may have their origin in physiology, psychology, or
social factors, which is why three kinds of addiction can be
distinguished: physiological, mental, and social [9].
Addiction has a multifactorial etiology and multidimensio-
nal nature. Psychologists consider an addiction to be a di-
sturbance of mental life or a disruption of behavior whose
background is more social than physiological. The abu-
se of psychoactive substances is connected with genetic
susceptibility; nevertheless, there is a connection linking
personal features, social infl uence, and the use of psycho-
active substances. An addiction has a background in bio-
logy, especially in genetics and mental vulnerability. All
biological changes are interpreted by humans in a socio-
cultural context [11,20].
The dynamic cultural, economic, and technological chan-
ges that took place during the 20
th
century resulted in in-
formation becoming of prime importance. During the last
20 years the computer has become familiar to everyone
and is used in different parts of life. Computers are natu-
ral elements of intellectual work and are a source of so-
cial attitudes [6]. They take part in the delivery of skills,
knowledge, and social abilities. The computer is involved
in education in the development of thinking and skills,
shortening cognitive processes, and economizing educa-
tional effort. Nevertheless, using a computer requires a lot
of time and results in decreased involvement in the fami-
ly, housework, professional and school duties, and limits
social and family contacts. It is also believed that aggres-
sion and destructive behavior can be a result of fascina-
tion with violent computers games [13].
The Internet is a global network linking millions of people
in the world and it enables users to exchange information;
moreover, it is an unlimited source of data, accessible at
any time and place [6].
This network creates huge possibilities and provides many
profi ts. The Internet has become a professional and edu-
cational tool. It provides unlimited access to information,
makes inter-personal communication easier, allows the
development of interests, and is a source of entertainment
[17]. However, it also poses some new, unknown threats.
Easy and uncontrolled access to information and anonymi-
ty endanger the moral development of children and youth.
Moreover, the Internet can create negative emotions, ag-
gression, and susceptibility to unethical behavior and re-
duce direct contacts between people [19,20].
Nowadays, the negative biopsychosocial consequences of
excessive Internet use are mostly discussed. The infl uen-
ce of the computer and the Internet on the human psyche
may be expressed by the display of media addictions re-
miniscent of psychoactive drug use, gambling,, and work
addictions. Addictive use of the Internet has no offi cial
name and is not classifi ed as a disorder. There are no cle-
arly defi ned features to diagnose such a disturbance. The
professional literature defi nes this addiction as a continu-
ous need to visit websites, engage in on-line gaming, or
use email and Internet communicators. Although compu-
ter abuse affects thousands of people, it has not yet been
thoroughly studied [3].
MATERIAL AND METHODS
In this study, 120 pupils of primary, middle, and high scho-
ols in Lodz participated. There were 54 girls and 66 boys
13–18 years of age (17 girls and 23 boys were in 13 years of
Wyniki:
Przeprowadzone badania wskazują, iż problem siecioholizmu istnieje i w różnym stopniu do-
tyczy co czwartego ankietowanego. W internetową pułapkę najczęściej wpadają młodsi użyt-
kownicy komputera i Internetu, pochodzący z rodzin niepełnych i nieposiadający rodzeństwa.
Częstsze używanie komputera wśród badanych uczniów wiązało się z wyższym poziomem lęku
i agresji .
Dyskusja:
Wobec realnego zagrożenia uzależnieniem od komputera i Internetu, należy zastanowić się nad
działaniami profi laktycznymi w zakresie zapobiegania temu zjawisku. Konieczne jest uświado-
mienie młodzieży i jej rodzicom zagrożeń, jakie wynikają z niekontrolowanego użytkowania
Internetu i zwrócić ich uwagę na zachowania związane z interntoholizmem.
Key words: uzależnienie od komputera i Internetu • agresja • lęk
Full-text PDF: http://www.phmd.pl/fulltxt.php?ICID=878550
Word count: 2753
Tables: 1
Figures: —
References: 21
Author’s address: Agata Orzechowska, MS, Klinika Psychiatrii Dorosłych Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi, Oddział XIB, Szpital
im. J. Babińskiego, ul. Aleksandrowska 159, 91-229, Łódź; e-mail: agrafka1005@wp.pl
Zboralski K. et al. – The prevalence of computer and Internet addiction among pupils
9
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age, 17 girls and 23 boys in 16 years of age, 20 girls and 20
boys in 18 years of age; mean age: 15.67±2.06). To explo-
re the problem of computer and Internet abuse, the follo-
wing research instruments were employed:
1. The Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IAQ) with 45 qu-
estions, developed by the authors, aimed to gain socio-
demographic information about the way of using com-
puters and the Internet by the pupils participating in the
study. The key of the answer of IAQ is based on answers
given by the respondents. It allowed dividing the group
into three categories: those demonstrating pathological
features of computer and Internet usage, those not de-
monstrating them, and endangered individuals.
2 The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
[18] aims to study the anxiety experienced by an indi-
vidual in a state of fear, understood as a relatively per-
manent feature of the personality. This test consists of
two parts, with instructions for both of them and 20 sta-
tements related to the subjective feeling of the person.
The construction of the STAI is based on the separa-
tion of anxiety as a state. One of these describes anxie-
ty as a short-term emotional condition that changes un-
der the infl uence of different dangerous threats. Another
describes anxiety as an acquired behavioral disposition
that makes a human susceptible to perceiving objecti-
vely safe situations as as threatening and then reacting
to such situations with some kind of anxiety [18].
3. The Psychological Inventory of Aggression Syndrome
(IPSA-II, Inwentarz Psychologiczny Syndromu Agresji) by
Z. Gaś [7] serves to measure the level of aggression, i.e.
the set of experiences, attitudes and behaviors, the aim or
result of which is to harm another person or themselves.
The inventory comprises 11 aspects (factors) of aggression,
these being susceptibility to take revenge, auto-destructi-
ve tendencies, aggression control disturbances, instrumen-
tal aggression, transferred aggression, indirect aggression,
hostility to themselves, physical aggression to people aro-
und, and reactive aggression. Moreover, this questionna-
ire enables calculating a general aggression indicator in
which all the responses are taken into account [7].
RESULTS
The data show that the interviewed pupils mostly came from
complete families (82.5%) and they had brothers or sisters
in most cases (65.8%). The proportions of pupils from com-
plete or broken families and having or not having siblings,
were similar in every school, regardless of the kind.
Over 30% of the subjects claimed their fi rst contact with
the computer before 7 years of age, about 40% when they
were 7–10, about 25% when they were 10–14, and only 2
respondents marked the answer “over the age of 14”.
Nearly 90% of the pupils claimed to have had contact with
alcohol at the age of 10–14. There was no signifi cant diffe-
rence between girls and boys in this regard or between the
respondents from the particular kinds of schools. Over half
of the participants had a history of cigarette smoking, which
took place after the age of 14. Cigarette smoking was noted
in the majority of the high school pupils and a defi nite mino-
rity of the primary school pupils, whereas the numbers mid-
dle school pupils of admitting or denying smoking were si-
milar. Nearly 20% of the respondents admitted taking drugs,
which in most cases took place after 14 years of age.
The responses showed that the young people used the com-
puter as willingly (57%) as spending time with their peers
(53%). However, some boys attending gymnasium indica-
ted the computer as their favorite form of spending free
time. The majority of the studied group used the compu-
ter every day (77.5%). Over half of the respondents spent
2–4 hours in front of the monitor, nearly 34% about an
hour, and nearly 15% over 4 hours. This group was domi-
nated by primary school pupils (boys and girls) and mid-
dle school pupils (mainly boys). Seventeen percent of the
respondents stated that they spent too little time with the
computer and 21% said too much; nearly 30% thought
they devoted just the right amount of time to the compu-
ter. Nearly 60% admitted that their parents did not control
the time they spent at the computer in any way.
The survey revealed that 80% of the total group had access
to the Internet. No access was more often declared among
primary school pupils. Regardless of this, over 50% of the
respondents used the Internet outside their own home, most
often at their friends’. Seven percent of the respondents (mo-
stly in primary school) with computers at home admitted
that their parents limited their use of the Internet. Of the
21% of the subjects with no Internet access at home, ne-
arly one third used the Internet often, while the rest (mo-
stly younger participants) rarely used it. Nearly 60% of the
subjects used the Internet every day, over 20% a few times
a week, and 15% only a few times a month. Over 40% of
those polled stated they use the Internet more often now
than some years ago, 38% did not note any difference in
the frequency, 6% felt they used the Internet less often, and
the rest could not explicitly answer this question.
The next step of the analysis was to distinguish those in-
dividuals whose behavior connected with computer and
Internet use could be qualifi ed as media addiction.
Comparison of results
Primary School
n=40
Middle School
n=40
High School
n=40
Total (%)
N=120
Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
Pupils abusing computer and
the Internet
0 1 1 5 0 0 7 (5.8%)
Pupils in danger of the problem 6 4 2 7 2 2 23 (19.2%)
Table 1. Final results of the IAQ analysis
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The data in Table 1 indicate addiction in 7 of the 120
participants (6%). Among them are 5 male and 1 fema-
le middle school pupils and one male primary school pu-
pil. There were no high school pupils in the group of those
abusing the Internet. Twenty-three of the 120 respondents
were endangered by the problem (19%). Primary school
pupils dominated here (10 pupils: 6 girls and 4 boys) to-
gether with middle school pupils (9 pupils: 2 girls and 7
boys) and a small group of high school students (4 pupils:
2 girls and 2 boys).
On the whole, excessive use of the computer and the Internet
was a problem for about one fourth of the polled partici-
pants; the endangered and the addicted together amounted
to 25% of the total. This problem seems to concern middle
school pupils more than others. Taking the addicted and
endangered young people together, female and male mid-
dle school pupils were in the majority (15), while the gro-
up of female and male primary school pupils was a little
smaller (11 people). Female and male high school pupils
seemed to be the least prone to addiction.
Taking gender into consideration it can be stated that patho-
logical use of the computer and the Internet can constitu-
te a problem more often for boys than for girls. Regardless
of the type of school, the ratio of endangered and addicted
girls to endangered and addicted boys was 11 to 19.
The next analyses aimed to study correlations between se-
lected demographic indicators and problematic compu-
ter and Internet use. To do this, Pearson’s correlation was
performed for levels of signifi cance of p<0.05, <0.01, and
0.001. The correlation coeffi cient (r) for the ages of the
subjects and the results obtained in the IAQ was –0.162,
which indicates a weak but still existent negative correla-
tion between age and the results with the IAQ. This was
demonstrated by the earlier conclusion that the oldest gro-
up was the least in danger of addiction.
To study the next correlation between gender and IAQ re-
sults, the Yule dependency coeffi cient Q was used. This
coeffi cient had a value of –0.224, which indicates a weak
correlation between male and the danger of computer and
Internet abuse. The infl uence of family structure was stu-
died in a similar way. The analysis revealed an average cor-
relation between the studied features. The Yule dependen-
cy coeffi cient for excessive Internet and computer use and
a complete and incomplete family was –0.365; however,
the correlation between excessive computer and Internet
usage and having siblings was Q=–0.3.
The next stage of the analysis was aimed at calculating the
correlation between excessive computer and Internet usage
and the tendency to addictive substance abuse. The linear
correlation coeffi cient was r=0.084, which indicates a sli-
ght positive dependency between the analyzed values.
The results obtained in the study with the aid of the State-
Trait Anxiety Inventory in the group of pupils were ave-
rage, ranging between 35–39 with respect to fear-condi-
tion and fear-feature. The differences between the pupils
of the particular school types were insignifi cant. Based
on the results of the fear-feature sheet of the STAI and of
the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IAQ), correlation
between excessive computer and Internet use and fear le-
vel as a personality feature was checked. The correlation
coeffi cient was r=0.279, which is evidence of an existing
but weak positive dependency. Thus higher results in the
IAQ study were accompanied by a higher level of fear as
a feature in the STAI.
The total level of aggression according to the IPSA-II was
higher in the primary and middle school male than in fe-
male pupils, while among high school students the results
of the girls and boys were very similar. On the basis of the
raw IPSA-II results and those of the IAQ, a relationship
between the general aggression indicator and Internet and
computer use was studied. In this case, r was 0.346, which
indicates an average positive correlation between these fe-
atures. The conclusion is that higher results obtained in the
IAQ study are connected with a higher level of the indica-
tor of general aggression.
DISCUSSION
This study showed that the problem of excessive compu-
ter and Internet use concerns a fourth of the polled pu-
pils, with nearly 6% revealing symptoms of addiction and
over 19% in danger of addiction. A similar study was per-
formed in 2002 by by the Institute of Psychology of Łódź
University on a group of over 2000 pupils 12–18 years old.
They showed that nearly one out of ten pupils was in dan-
ger of addiction [21].
The problem of excessive computer and Internet use is
increasing more rapidly every year and it can occur toge-
ther with other kinds of addiction. Our study demonstra-
ted that 90% of the surveyed pupils had had contact with
alcohol, nearly 70% with cigarettes, and 25% admitted
contact with drugs. The analysis did not show unambi-
guously if the tendency to take these psychoactive agents
had any relationship with the problem of addictive com-
puter and Internet use.
According to Korean scientists, the causes of Internet ad-
diction do not have only habitual bases, but also demo-
graphic and socioeconomic [8]. The present study partly
confi rmed this by the fi nding that the correlation between
computer and Internet usage and family structure was on
an average level. The pupils who did not have siblings and
who were from incomplete families were more in danger
of addiction. Moreover, fear and aggression levels were
higher in the subjects who obtained higher results in the
Internet Addiction Questionnaire. An alternative opinion
of the problem was presented by Australian scientists. They
concluded that there is no signifi cant relationship between
the time spent in the Internet and anxiety attacks, depres-
sion, or fear of contact with other people [1].
The question of correlation between computer and Internet
abuse and such variables as gender and age remains unso-
lved. Statistic analysis showed that Internet addiction is in
some way connected with age and gender. The results sug-
gest that this kind of addiction is more common among
younger male users. Some studies presented in the lite-
rature confi rm this relationship [10,15]. Opposite results
were presented by Chinese scientists who collected data
from a trial of nearly 700 people, suggesting that fema-
Zboralski K. et al. – The prevalence of computer and Internet addiction among pupils
11
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le users are more prone to a pathological need to use the
Internet [12].
Summing up, it can be stated that the results presented in
this study are for the most part in accordance with those
of other authors on this subject. Some differences can re-
sult from the different conditions, instruments, and diffe-
rences in the number and structure of the studied group.
Another signifi cant fact is that the present study con-
cerns mainly the Internet and avoids computer abuse as
the primary problem of which Internet addiction is an in-
tegral part. Computer and Internet abuse is a very com-
plex problem, which is why it is diffi cult to state whether
it is more accurate to treat the problem totally, i.e. as ad-
diction to the computer and the Internet, or to consider its
particular subtypes.
Although Internet addiction is a relatively new phenome-
non, it has already become a subject of numerous studies.
Authors continuously report unknown or unconfi rmed con-
ditionings as well as of cause-and-effect relationships of
addiction in connection with other factors. Pathological
computer use is connected, according to various authors,
with shyness, low self-esteem, low interpersonal compe-
tence, loneliness, lack of social support, and the coexisten-
ce of mental disorders [2,4,5,16].
The problem of addiction is strictly connected with the
constant human struggle for a better and less tiring life, at-
titudes toward suffering, coping with everyday tasks and
duties, abilities and talents, and searching for the desired
permanent values in life. The ability to choose between the
good but unpleasant and the bad but nice [14] is very es-
sential. Skilful use of the opportunities that scientifi c and
technical progress has brought is equally important. The
computer and Internet access should not be a basic form
of spending free time nor should it replace direct interper-
sonal relationships.
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