Prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among hungarian high school teachers

Abstract

The extensive availability of internet has led to the the recognition of problematic internet use (so called internet addiction, IA) mostly involving adolescents. There is limited data about the prevalence of IA in adults. Here we present a study focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among high school teachers. Overall 2500 paper-based questionnaires were successfully delivered and 1817 responses received (response rate of 72.7%). In our study 1194 females (65.7%) and 623 males (34.3%) participated. In a multivariate analysis including of all factors (demographic data, internet habits, comorbidity etc.) age <35 years (OR: 6.098, CI: 5.09–7.08, p < 0.001), male gender (OR = 5.413, CI: 4.39–6.18, p = 0.002), surfing on the internet > 5 h daily (OR 2.568, CI: 2.03–3.39, p < 0.001), having no children (OR: 1.353, CI: 1.13–1.99, p = 0.0248), and having secondary employment (OR = 11.377, CI: 8.67–13.07, p = 0.001) were significantly associated with internet addiction. This is the first study from Hungary showing the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among high school teachers. A small, but significant proportion suffered from IA. Our study also draws attention to the risk factors of IA such as younger age, family status and working type.