Behaviors associated with internet use in military medical students and residents

Abstract

Introduction: Problematic use of video games, social media, and Internet-related activities may be associated with sleep deprivation and poor work performance. The Internet Addiction Test was given to military medicaland nursing students and housestaff to assess problematic Internet use. Methods: Medical and nursing students at theUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and residents from Naval Medical Center San Diego were contacted via email (n = 1,000) and given a survey that included the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and questions askingabout other specific lifestyle variables. Individuals who received an Internet Addiction Score (IAS) =50 were identifiedas likely experiencing harmful effects of Internet addiction (IA). Results: Of 399 surveys submitted, 68 were omitteddue to gross incompletion or failing to finish the entirety of the IAT. Of the participants included, 205 (61.1%) weremale and 125 (37.9%) were female. The mean age was 28.6 years old (S.D. = 5.1 years). In regards to training status,completed surveys were assessed for 94 medical residents, 221 School of Medicine students, and 16 Graduate Schoolof Nursing students. Our survey showed 5.5% of the participants (n = 18) indicated problems with Internet use that areconcerning for IA. Conclusions: The study results indicated that our population showed problematic Internet use in thelower range of global estimates of IA. Rates of IA further decreased between medical students and residents. Multiplelifestyle variables were significantly associated with IA score and may serve as indicators of a higher score.Interestingly, the use of social media during sleeping hours was most significantly associated with increased IAS. Thispaper discusses IA among military medical and nursing trainees and how problematic Internet use may affect work performance and force readiness.