Problematic Internet Use: Prevalence and related factors in a sample of Italian High School students

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has emerged in recent years as a problem among teenagers worldwide. Currently, little is known about its potential risk factors. We designed a cross-sectional study to measure the prevalence of PIU and identify its related factors in a sample of high school Italian students. Information on socio-demographic and psychological factors was gathered through an anonymous questionnaire including the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). All the schools of Pinerolo district in Piedmont region were invited to participate in the study, and all accepted. A total of 2022 students from 25 high schools participate in the survey between December 2010 and March 2011. Almost all students declared to use Internet (99.4%). The prevalence of PIU was 12.0%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that people attending a vocational school (OR = 1.62; 95% CI 1.07-2.47), being of a younger age (OR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.08-2.70), feeling lonely (OR = 3.65; 95% CI:2.05-6.51), visiting pornographic sites (OR = 2.44; 95% CI 1.62-3.69), logging onto the Internet several times a week, and connecting for at least two hours consecutively (OR = 2.34; 95% CI 1.60-3.41) were risk factors for PIU, while searching for information for school purposes was a protective factor (OR= 0.48; 95% CI 0.33-0.70). No gender differences were detected. The high prevalence of PIU observed in this population suggest particular care to be applied by teachers and parents in checking at-risk habits of pupils when using Internet, and the need of public health practitioners to plan preventive interventions.