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Volume 7 Issue 11 (November, 2019)

Original Articles

Internet Addiction and Performance of Dental Students –A Cross-Sectional Study
Irfan Ali

Introduction: Excessive internet usage, also called as pathological internet use or internet addiction, causes problems in social and personal life.In the community, adolescents have been found to spend more time on the Internet than adults, predisposingthemselves to Internet addiction. Aim: The aim of the study is to assess the lifestyle, self-esteem and academic performance associated with Internet Addiction amongdental students. Materials and methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 undergraduate students of a teaching dental college in Ghaziabad, India.Young’s Internet Addiction Test was used for assessing the prevalence of Internet Addiction. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure the self-esteem. The data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The association between explanatory variables and categorical outcomes was assessed by comparison of percentages. Chi-square test was done. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results:In the present study, it was found that131 (43.67%) students were mildly addicted and 86 (28.67%) were students are moderately addicted while 83 (27.66%) students were normal internet users.Significant association was found between academic performance and Internet Addiction. But, Internet Addiction had no significant association with Self- Esteem and Obesity. Conclusion:The study findings concluded that although internet addiction does not affect the BMI and self-esteem of students of health sciences, it does affect their academic performance. Proper screening methods should be used for prompt detection and management of Internet Addiction and awareness should be made about the same among the youth. Key words: Internet addiction, Academic performance, Self-esteem, Obesity

 
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