American Journal of Applied Psychology

| Peer-Reviewed |

Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine

Received: 26 June 2014    Accepted: 01 July 2014    Published: 10 July 2014
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Despite the positive aspects of the internet have been readily praised over the last years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the internet. The present study was conducted in order to investigate not only the prevalence of internet addiction among the nursing students at the Islamic University of Gaza, but also the relationship between internet addictions and psychological morbidity. At the beginning of first semester of the academic year 2013/2014, all nursing students from second, third, and fourth year students-excluding first year students-were handed the questionnaires, which included the Arabic versions of Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and demographic data. A total of 236 nursing students completed and returned the questionnaires. Female participants were 124 (52.5%) and fourth year students were 107 (45.3%). Results indicated that 30.1% of participants scored high level of internet addiction. Male nursing students were significantly higher than females in both internet addiction and psychological morbidity. No significant differences in IAT or GHQ-12 were found among nursing students due to study year. The results showed that there is significant positive correlation between internet addiction and psychological morbidity. It can be concluded that Palestinian nursing students in Gaza are highly addicted on internet and this affected their psychological morbidity. A program to reduce addiction on internet is suggested and comfortable study environment is recommended.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13
Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 3, Issue 4, July 2014)
Page(s) 99-103
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Internet Addiction, Psychological Morbidity, Nursing Students, Gaza-Palestine

References
[1] Alavi S, Maracy M, Jannatifard F, Eslami M, Haghighi M (2010). A Survey of Relationship between psychiatric symptoms and internet addiction in students of Isfahan universities, Scientific Journal of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services; 17 (2): 57-65.
[2] Beranuy M, Oberst U, Carbonell X, Chamarro A (2009). Problematic Internet and mobile phone use and clinical symptoms in college students: the role of emotional intelligence, Computers in Human Behavior; 25 (5): 1182-1187.
[3] Bidi F, Namdari-Pejman M, Kareshki H, Ahmadnia H (2012). The Mediating role of metacognition in the relationship between internet addiction and general health, Addiction & Health; 4 (1-2): 49-56.
[4] Ceyhan A (2008). Predictors of problematic Internet use on Turkish university students, Cyberpsychology & Behavior; 11 (3): 363-6.
[5] Choi K, Son H, Park M, Han J, Kim K, Lee B, et al (2009). Internet overuse and excessive daytime sleepiness in adolescents, Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences; 63 (4): 455-62.
[6] Christakis D (2010). Internet addiction: A 21st century epidemic? BioMed Central Medicine; 8: 61.
[7] Christakis D, Moreno M, Jelenchick L, Myaing M, Zhou C (2011). Problematic internet usage in US college students: a pilot study, BioMed Central Medicine; 9:77.
[8] Deng Y, Hu M, Hu G, Wang L, Sun Z (2007). An investigation on the prevalence of internet addiction disorder in middle school students of Hunan province, Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi; 28 (5): 445-8.
[9] Ferraro G, Caci B, D’Amico A, Di Blasi M (2007). Internet addiction disorder: An Italian study, Cyberpsychology & Behavior; 10 (2): 170-5.
[10] Fu K, Chan W, Wong P, Yip P (2010). Internet addiction: prevalence, discriminant validity and correlates among adolescents in Hong Kong, The British Journal of Psychiatry; 196 (6): 486-92.
[11] Gibbons C, Dempster M, Moutray M (2009). Surveying nursing students on their sources of stress: A validation study, Nurse Education Today; 29 (8): 867-872.
[12] Goldberg D (1992). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Windsor, UK: Nfer-Nelson.
[13] Ha J, Yoo H, Cho I, Chin B, Shin D, Kim J (2006). Psychiatric comorbidity assessed in Korean children and adolescents who screen positive for Internet addiction, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry; 67 (5): 821-826.
[14] Hawi N (2013). Arabic validation of the Internet Addiction Test, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking; 16 (3): 200-204.
[15] Iqbal M, Noor M, Miann A (2014). Analysis of internet addiction amongst university level students, VFAST Transactions on Software Engineering; 3 (2): 11-16.
[16] Kim K, Ryu E, Chon M, Yeun E, Choi S, Seo J, et al (2006). Internet addiction in Korean adolescents and its relation to depression and suicidal ideation: a questionnaire survey, International Journal of Nursing Studies; 43 (2): 185-92.
[17] Kormas G, Critselis E, Janikian M, Kafetzis D, Tsitsika A (2011). Risk factors and psychosocial characteristics of potential problematic and problematic internet use among adolescents: A cross-sectional study, BioMed Central Public Health; 11: 595.
[18] Kutty N, Sreeramareddy C (2014). A cross-sectional online survey of compulsive internet use and mental health of young adults in Malaysia, Journal of Family and Community Medicine; 21 (1): 23-28.
[19] Lotfi M, Minian A, Ghomizadeh A, Nourani F (2010). A study on psychological health of first year university students in Iran, Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; 3 (2): 47-51.
[20] Muussesa L, Finkenauerb C, Kerkhofc P, Billedoc C (2014). A longitudinal study of the association between Compulsive Internet use and wellbeing, Computers in Human Behavior; 36: 21-28.
[21] Nasiri E, Raei M, Vatani J, Keshavarz S, Hashiani A (2011). Survey the Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Its Influential Factors in Persian College Student in 2011, Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research; 10 (1): 50-53.
[22] Papazisis G, Tsiga E, Papanikolaou N, Vlasiadis I, Sapountzi-Krepia D (2008). Psychological distress, anxiety and depression among nursing students in Greece, International Journal of Caring Sciences; 1 (1): 42-46.
[23] Petry N (2006). Internet gambling: an emerging concern in family practice medicine, Family Practice; 23 (4): 421-426.
[24] Pryjmachuk S, Richards D (2008). Predicting stress in pre-registration midwifery students attending a university in Northern England. Midwifery; 24 (1): 108-122.
[25] Tsai H, Cheng S, Yeh T, Shih C, Chen K, Yang Y, et al (2009). The risk factors of Internet addiction–a survey of university freshmen, Psychiatry Research; 167 (3): 294-9.
[26] Tsitsika A, Critselis E, Kormas G, Filippopoulou A, Tounissidou D, Freskou A, Spiliopoulou T, Louizou A, Konstantoulaki E, Kafetzis D (2009). Internet use and misuse: a multivariate regression analysis of the predictive factors of internet use among Greek adolescents, European Journal of Pediatrics; 168 (6): 655-65.
[27] Wang H, Zhou X, Lu C, Wu J, Deng X, Hong L (2011). Problematic Internet Use in High School Students in Guangdong Province, China, PLoS One; 6 (5): e19660.
[28] Widyanto L, McMurran M (2004). The psychometric properties of the internet addiction test, Cyberpsychology & Behavior; 7 (4): 443-50.
[29] Yoo Y, Cho O, Cha K (2013). Associations between overuse of the internet and mental health in adolescents, Nursing & Health Sciences; (In Press).
[30] Young K (2009). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder, Cyberpsychology & Behavior; 1 (3): 237-244.
Author Information
  • Faculty of Nursing, the Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Bashir Ibrahim Alhajjar. (2014). Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(4), 99-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Bashir Ibrahim Alhajjar. Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2014, 3(4), 99-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Bashir Ibrahim Alhajjar. Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine. Am J Appl Psychol. 2014;3(4):99-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13,
      author = {Bashir Ibrahim Alhajjar},
      title = {Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {3},
      number = {4},
      pages = {99-103},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20140304.13},
      abstract = {Despite the positive aspects of the internet have been readily praised over the last years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the internet. The present study was conducted in order to investigate not only the prevalence of internet addiction among the nursing students at the Islamic University of Gaza, but also the relationship between internet addictions and psychological morbidity. At the beginning of first semester of the academic year 2013/2014, all nursing students from second, third, and fourth year students-excluding first year students-were handed the questionnaires, which included the Arabic versions of Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and demographic data. A total of 236 nursing students completed and returned the questionnaires. Female participants were 124 (52.5%) and fourth year students were 107 (45.3%). Results indicated that 30.1% of participants scored high level of internet addiction. Male nursing students were significantly higher than females in both internet addiction and psychological morbidity. No significant differences in IAT or GHQ-12 were found among nursing students due to study year. The results showed that there is significant positive correlation between internet addiction and psychological morbidity. It can be concluded that Palestinian nursing students in Gaza are highly addicted on internet and this affected their psychological morbidity. A program to reduce addiction on internet is suggested and comfortable study environment is recommended.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Internet Addiction and Psychological Morbidity among Nursing Students in Gaza-Palestine
    AU  - Bashir Ibrahim Alhajjar
    Y1  - 2014/07/10
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    SP  - 99
    EP  - 103
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.13
    AB  - Despite the positive aspects of the internet have been readily praised over the last years, there has been increased interest in the addictive potential of the internet. The present study was conducted in order to investigate not only the prevalence of internet addiction among the nursing students at the Islamic University of Gaza, but also the relationship between internet addictions and psychological morbidity. At the beginning of first semester of the academic year 2013/2014, all nursing students from second, third, and fourth year students-excluding first year students-were handed the questionnaires, which included the Arabic versions of Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and demographic data. A total of 236 nursing students completed and returned the questionnaires. Female participants were 124 (52.5%) and fourth year students were 107 (45.3%). Results indicated that 30.1% of participants scored high level of internet addiction. Male nursing students were significantly higher than females in both internet addiction and psychological morbidity. No significant differences in IAT or GHQ-12 were found among nursing students due to study year. The results showed that there is significant positive correlation between internet addiction and psychological morbidity. It can be concluded that Palestinian nursing students in Gaza are highly addicted on internet and this affected their psychological morbidity. A program to reduce addiction on internet is suggested and comfortable study environment is recommended.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections