ArticleDepression and anxiety2020
Problematic internet use/computer gaming among US college students: Prevalence and correlates with mental health symptoms.
Article in Depression and anxiety, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of digital addiction on youth health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Pooled it
- Internet addiction-induced brain structure and function alterations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity studies.Brain imaging and behavior · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of the digital parental-family-centered program for problematic gaming and screen use in a clinical child and adolescent population.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Social Connectedness Buffering the Interaction Between Problematic Internet Use and Psychopathological Symptoms Among Adolescents: Undirected and Bayesian Network Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Latent profiles of problematic internet use and their associations with physical activity levels among college students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- An online game spread model combining key nodes in scale-free networks.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Individual and Environmental Predictors of Problematic Internet Use Among Young Adult Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: A 4-Year Follow-up Study.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
- Problematic Internet use among resident physicians at St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Moderation of sex in the Association between School Bullying Behaviors and problematic gaming among Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Predictors of new-onset suicide risk and persistent suicide risk among young adult lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic: a follow-up study.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2024Article
- Rates and psychological stress predictors of problematic internet use (PIU) during the COVID-19 pandemic in a racially diverse sample of young adults.Anxiety, stress, and coping · 2024Article
- Article
- The Interplay of Sleep Quality, Mental Health, and Sociodemographic and Clinical Factors among Italian College Freshmen.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Impulsivity and aggression as risk factors for internet gaming disorder among university students.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Functional connectivity changes in the brain of adolescents with internet addiction: A systematic literature review of imaging studies.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Article
- Prevalence of smartphone addiction and its relation with psychological distress and internet gaming disorder among medical college students.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Internet use 101 in college: Do undergraduates want to learn healthier internet use?Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Longitudinal associations between problematic Internet use, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Article
- COVID-19-related direct and vicarious racial discrimination: Associations with psychological distress among U.S. college students.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDespite widespread internet use and computer gaming, as well as concerns about online addiction, little is known regarding the relationship between problematic internet use/computer gaming and mental health (MH) symptomatology among US college students. To address this gap, the present study examines a large, nation-wide sample of US college students to assess the rate of problematic internet use/computer gaming and its association with MH symptoms.
methodsUsing data from 43,003 undergraduates participating in the 2017 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, we examined rates of problematic internet use/computer gaming, defined as self-reported internet use/computer gaming that negatively affected academic performance. Logistic regression using a generalized estimating equations approach to adjust for clustering by school examined whether rates of MH symptomatology differed among students who reported problematic versus nonproblematic internet use and computer gaming.
resultsTen percent of students reported problematic internet use/computer gaming that had negatively impacted academic performance. Adjusting for a range of covariates, students reporting problematic internet use/computer gaming had higher rates of all 11 MH indicators examined, with odds ratios ranging from 1.42 ("ever attempted suicide") to 3.90 ("ever felt overwhelmed by all you had to do").
conclusionsProblematic internet use/computer gaming is reported by 10% of undergraduate students and represents a significant correlate of MH symptomatology. These findings suggest that problematic internet use/computer gaming will be an important public health focus for college campuses.
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