Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | 3186 - Prevalence and association of cyberaddiction and impulsiveness among teenagers |
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| Contribution code | PS01-37 (P) |
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| Form of presentation | Poster |
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| Abstract |
Objectives: Determine the prevalence of either cyberaddiction and impulsiveness among teenage students and study the association between them. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study among a sample of 100 high school students. Two self-administrated questionnaires were filled out by volunteer students from Carthage High School (Tunisia). Collected data included socio-demographic charcteristics, Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Results: A total of 100 students were included in the study. Eighty-four percent among them completed the two questionnaires. Mean age was 15,3 years with age extremes ranging from 13,5 to 18 years. Sex-ratio was 0,62. Twenty-eight point six percent of students had academic problems at school. All students included in the study had internet connection and at least one computer at home. Almost a third of them used the 3G or 4G network on their mobile phones. Mean age of Internet-use onset was 8,7 years. Time spent in using Internet was estimated at more than 6 hours a day in 14,3% of cases, between 2 and 6 hours a day in 73,8% of cases and less than 2 hours a day in only 11,8% of cases. According to the IAT score, the prevalence of cyberaddiction was 7,1% with problematic use and severe repercussions on the teenager’s life. A high score of impulsiveness was found in 22,6% of cases. Impulsiveness was correlated with age (p=0,02) but not with gender (p=0,07). Significant correlations were also observed between cyberaddiction and impulsiveness (total implusiveness score and cognitive impulsiveness score, respectively p=0,05 and p=0,03). Conclusion: The association between cyberaddiction and impulsiveness is becoming more and more evident. However, future studies should take into account psychological and socio-cultural features as well as the particularities of this behavioral addiction in adolescents. |