Association Between Internet Addiction and Mental Health Problems in Korean Adolescents: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) among Korean adolescents and examine its association with psychiatric comorbidities and mental health symptoms.

METHODS

A total of 270 adolescents and their parents participated in this study. Parents completed the Internet Addiction Proneness Scale for Youth: Observer Version and the Diagnostic Predictive Scales, whereas adolescents completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children, the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Disorders, and the Youth Self-Report. Group differences in psychiatric disorders and mental health symptoms across IA levels were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of the participants, 86.3% were classified as general, 11.1% as potential high risk, and 2.6% as high risk for IA. The high risk IA group exhibited significantly higher rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (42.9%), major depressive disorder (26.3%), and social anxiety (14.3%) as well as greater attentional and social difficulties. Effect sizes for group differences were small to moderate (ε2=0.041 for social problems; ε2=0.033 for attentional problems). IA scores were positively correlated with attentional difficulties and anxiety. Anxiety was a significant predictor of IA in the regression analysis.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents with high IA risk exhibited elevated psychiatric comorbidities and mental health difficulties, with anxiety showing an independent association with IA. These findings suggest incorporating anxiety-management components into IA prevention and care. Given the small sample size of the high risk IA group, caution is warranted when generalizing these findings.