Internet addiction in Korean adolescents and its relation to depression and suicidal ideation: a questionnaire survey.
This study examined the relationship of Internet addiction to depression and suicidal ideation in Korean adolescents. The participants were 1573 high-school students living in a city who completed the self-reported measures of the Internet Addiction Scale, the Korean version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Major Depression Disorder-Simple Questionnaire, and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior. A correlational survey design was employed. Among the samples, 1.6% was diagnosed as Internet addicts, while 38.0% was classified as possible Internet addicts. The prevalence of Internet addiction did not vary with gender. The levels of depression and suicide ideation were highest in the Internet-addicts group. Future studies should investigate the direct relationship between psychological health problems and Internet dependency.
Kim
Kyunghee
K
Department of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, 221, Heuksuk-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
Ryu
Eunjung
E
Chon
Mi-Young
MY
Yeun
Eun-Ja
EJ
Choi
So-Young
SY
Seo
Jeong-Seok
JS
Nam
Bum-Woo
BW
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*