Internet use patterns and the relation between generalized problematic internet use and psychological distress in Portuguese university students

• Autor(a) principal: Maia, Berta Rodrigues
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Marques, Mariana, Pereira, Ana Telma, Macedo, António
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/106670; https://doi.org/10.5944/rppc.25324
• topic: Internet use patterns; generalized problematic internet use; psychological distress; university students; Patrones de uso de Internet; uso problemático generalizado de Internet; distrés psicológico; estudiantes universitarios

Internet use patterns, generalized problematic internet use, and the latter’s relation to psychological distress were explored in a sample of 503 university students (Mage = 20.25; SD = 2.75). A questionnaire about internet use patterns, the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales were answered. The students spent 5 hours online on a daily basis. The total generalized problematic internet use index score corresponded to a medium-risk level, with 12.9% of men and 5.0% of women presenting a high-risk level. Higher total generalized problematic internet use risk levels corresponded to higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Our results seem to show that university students constitute a particularly vulnerable group in terms of problematic internet use, supporting the relation between generalized problematic internet use and psychological distress.