Comparison of psychological disorders in addicted and non adidicted students to the internet in University of Isfahan

Introduction: Internet use has become one of the most popular recreational and academic activities for college students because of its convenience and its availiability. Increasing use of internet and its psychological consequences needs more attention to mental health for internet operators. The purpose of the present research was evaluation and comparison of psychic health of addicted and non addicted students to internet in University of Isfahan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 randomly selected students during 2009-2010 academic year . Yang standard internet addiction questionnaire and SCL_90_R applied for data gathering and data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation coefficient and t-test with SPSS Software. Results: All subscales of SCL- 90 were significantly associated with internet addiction. The university students with internet addiction have higher score in GSI and seven subscale of SCL-90_R contain, OCD, DEP, SOM, ANX, IS, PAR and PHOB compare to non addicted group (P<0.05). The result of regression analysis showed that OCD was the best predictor of internet addiction. Conclusion: With the increasing use of internet among college students, the consequences of the internet addiction must be taken into account seriously. Educating students regarding the correct usage of the internet would give a tremendous boost in controlling internet addiction among university students.