Internet Addiction among Greek University Students: Demographic Associations with the Phenomenon, using the Greek version of Young's Internet Addiction Test

Internet addiction (IA) is a new disorder described in 1996 by the psychologistKimberly Young. The aim of this paper is to estimate the percentage of IA amongGreek university students. Results of a sample survey among 1876 Greek universitystudents, 18-27 years old, are presented. The questionnaire consisted of eight questionsfrom Young’s Diagnostic Test for Internet Addiction (YDTIA) as well as an inventoryincluding demographic factors and questions about academic performance, computerand Internet use. YDTIA had a good reliability and diagnostic accuracy, tested withCronbach’s alpha (0.71) and sensitivity analysis. Results show that the percentage ofIA (5-8 YDTIA criteria) is 11.6%, while problematic Internet users were (3-8 YDTIAcriteria) 34.7%. Men were more likely to be addicted to the Internet than women, andInternet addicted students were associated with poorer academic performance. Multiplelogistic regression showed that significant predictors of IA included increased hoursof daily Internet use, increased hours visiting chat rooms, sex pages and blogs, malegender, divorced status, poor grades, and accessing the Internet outside of the home.The results of this study will allow health officials to recognise students who are Internetaddicted or on the verge of becoming addicted and stress risk factors indicating a needfor intervention in order to prevent the appearance of IA.