Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students

Zeinab Nemati, Hossein Matlabi Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Background: Internet addiction and drug abuse isolate adolescents from their family and friends and cause damage to their health, rela...

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Main Authors: Nemati Z, Matlabi H
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2017-01-01
Series:Psychology Research and Behavior Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/assessing-behavioral-patterns-of-internet-addiction-and-drug-abuse-amo-peer-reviewed-article-PRBM
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spelling doaj-98ecfaf55f6c49989343f3ec533c5fc42020-11-24T22:41:24ZengDove Medical PressPsychology Research and Behavior Management1179-15782017-01-01Volume 10394531027Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school studentsNemati ZMatlabi HZeinab Nemati, Hossein Matlabi Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Background: Internet addiction and drug abuse isolate adolescents from their family and friends and cause damage to their health, relations, emotions, and spirit. In the society, adolescents’ addiction extracts high cost on health care, educational failure and mental health services. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the behavioral patterns of Internet and drug addiction among urban and rural students in Urmia, Iran. Methods: A sectional and descriptive–analytical approach with stratified sampling method was employed to recruit 385 high school students from urban and rural areas. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS) were used for data collection. Results: The total score of Internet addiction among the students was 41.72 ± 17.41. Approximately two-third of the students were not addicted to the Internet. The mean score of the AAS was 1.87 ± 1.23 among boys and 1.75 ± 1.31 among girls. Moreover, 8.31% of the students were prone to abusing substances. A statistically significant relationship was found between mother’s literacy level and Internet addiction behavior of students (p=0.009). Conclusion: Concentrating on adolescents’ behavioral patterns and their tendency toward misusing Internet and drugs is a notable procedure. Therefore, focusing on adolescents’ health and institutionalizing appropriate training programs for adolescents and their families are vital. Keywords: Internet, drug abuse, adolescence, addiction, behaviorhttps://www.dovepress.com/assessing-behavioral-patterns-of-internet-addiction-and-drug-abuse-amo-peer-reviewed-article-PRBMInternetDrug AbuseAdolescenceAddictionBehavior
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Nemati Z
Matlabi H
spellingShingle Nemati Z
Matlabi H
Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
Internet
Drug Abuse
Adolescence
Addiction
Behavior
author_facet Nemati Z
Matlabi H
author_sort Nemati Z
title Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
title_short Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
title_full Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
title_fullStr Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
title_full_unstemmed Assessing behavioral patterns of Internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
title_sort assessing behavioral patterns of internet addiction and drug abuse among high school students
publisher Dove Medical Press
series Psychology Research and Behavior Management
issn 1179-1578
publishDate 2017-01-01
description Zeinab Nemati, Hossein Matlabi Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Background: Internet addiction and drug abuse isolate adolescents from their family and friends and cause damage to their health, relations, emotions, and spirit. In the society, adolescents’ addiction extracts high cost on health care, educational failure and mental health services. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the behavioral patterns of Internet and drug addiction among urban and rural students in Urmia, Iran. Methods: A sectional and descriptive–analytical approach with stratified sampling method was employed to recruit 385 high school students from urban and rural areas. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS) were used for data collection. Results: The total score of Internet addiction among the students was 41.72 ± 17.41. Approximately two-third of the students were not addicted to the Internet. The mean score of the AAS was 1.87 ± 1.23 among boys and 1.75 ± 1.31 among girls. Moreover, 8.31% of the students were prone to abusing substances. A statistically significant relationship was found between mother’s literacy level and Internet addiction behavior of students (p=0.009). Conclusion: Concentrating on adolescents’ behavioral patterns and their tendency toward misusing Internet and drugs is a notable procedure. Therefore, focusing on adolescents’ health and institutionalizing appropriate training programs for adolescents and their families are vital. Keywords: Internet, drug abuse, adolescence, addiction, behavior
topic Internet
Drug Abuse
Adolescence
Addiction
Behavior
url https://www.dovepress.com/assessing-behavioral-patterns-of-internet-addiction-and-drug-abuse-amo-peer-reviewed-article-PRBM
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