Internet Addiction Based on Personality Characteristics in Medical Students

Background The Internet has become a fundamental part of modern life, it has given rise to various problematic behaviors. Some of these behaviors, such as prolific use of social media, frequent email checking, excessive online gaming, online buying and gambling, and viewing pornography cause significant impairment in everyday functioning of some individuals. Different researchers studied psychological aspects like impulsive compulsive spectrum, anxiety and depression in internet addicts. Objectives The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between internet addictions and different aspects of personality in medical students. Methods In this cross, sectional study the purpose was to assess all 687medical students of medical faculty of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. 364 students showed their contention for participating in the study by filling the consent form. Finally 278 valid questionnaires were collected. They responded to the demographic questions in the questionnaire such as age, sex, marital status, student accommodation, entrance year to university, student residence place and also internet addiction test was performed and NEO five-factor inventory short form (NEO-FFI) was filled. Results 55% of participants show internet addiction, with distribution of 51.4% mild, 2.9% moderate and 0.4% severe addiction. Internet addiction and personality traits of extraversion (The correlation coefficient = -0.118, P = 0.05), agreeableness (The correlation coefficient = -0.379, P = 0.001) and conscientiousness (The correlation coefficient = -0.21, P = 0.001), showed significant negative correlation, but its correlation with neuroticism (The correlation coefficient = +0.2, P = 0.001) was significantly positive. Internet addiction scores among students in semester five and eleven prior to the comprehensive basic science test (26.52 ± 9.8) and comprehensive pre-internship test (28.57 ± 19.2) were higher than the other academic years. Conclusions The prevalence of Internet addiction in this study was higher compared to similar studies in other fields which led to the concerns regarding the extent of the problem. More internet addiction among students in 4th and 10th semester reveals the need for being efficiently trained in order to deal with stress in critical condition and also to maintain positive academic performance. Correlation of some aspects of personality traits with internet addiction, suggested initial assessment of medical students’ personality by screening tools and identification of populations at risk. This may prove a need for favorable methods for initiation of prevention.