Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Lederer-Hutsteiner, T.
Prevalence and Correlates of Internet-related Addictive Behaviour among Styrian Pupils
Doktoratsstudium der Medizinischen Wissenschaft; Humanmedizin; [ Dissertation ] Medizinische Universität Graz; 2025. pp. 159
[OPEN ACCESS]
FullText
- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Betreuer*innen:
- Freidl Wolfgang
- Greimel Elfriede Renate
- Stolz Erwin
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Approximately 20 years after the first scientific publications on internet-related addictive behaviour (IRAB), the World Health Organization decided in 2018 to classify two concrete manifestations of this phenomenon as addiction-related mental health disorders in the latest edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), based on clinical, neurophysiological and epidemiological evidence collected up to that point. IRAB has been heavily issued in numerous epidemiological studies, either generally or in relation to single specific areas of internet use, such as social media or gaming. However, extensive comparisons across several applications are scarce. Moreover, there is a lack of current and robust data for adolescents in Austria, who are considered a particularly vulnerable risk group in this context. This gap severely limits the planning of widely requested prevention and intervention measures. The present dissertation aims to address this gap by providing prevalence estimates of various specific IRABs and establishing a foundation for evidence-based planning of policies through application-specific analyses of associated correlates. The results of this thesis are based on secondary cross-sectional data of a population-representative sample of 2,812 school students that were surveyed in spring 2022 using recognized screening instruments. Data analysis involved multilevel logistic and linear regression and was preceded by extensive measures to maximize data quality. The findings largely converge with prior research and indicate that digital media devices (DMD) and internet applications represent pivotal aspects and constant companions of adolescents’ lives. The screened adolescents exhibit remarkably high prevalences of IRAB, especially related to smartphones and social media. In this regard, female adolescents demonstrate significantly higher prevalences than males. Moreover, other mental health problems and insomnia, both significantly linked to IRAB, affect a substantial proportion of students. A higher symptom severity of IRAB is associated with several use patterns, comorbid mental problems, sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics as well as with family environmental aspects. The findings provide evidence for measures to be addressed at different target groups and levels such as measures to strengthen parental awareness, measures to strengthen awareness among health and school professionals, measures to foster non-digital reward mechanisms as well as measures to generally strengthen mental health among adolescents with a special focus on the role of social media.