The Association between Problematic Internet Use, Suicide Probability, Alexithymia and Loneliness among Turkish Medical Students

Objective: It is known that problematic internet use (PIU) increasing especially among the youth and has become an important public health problem. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of PIU among the medical students and the relationship between PIU and selected socio-demographic characteristics (e.g. gender), loneliness, alexithymia and probability of suicide. Method: A total of 328 subjects (44.2% males, 55.8% females) completed four instruments: Young Internet Addiction Test (YIAT), UCLA loneliness scale (UCLA-LS), The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Suicide Probability Scale (SPS). Results: PIU was detected in 6.4% (n=21) of the participants. Its prevalence was significantly higher in males than in females (p=0.009). We found significant positive correlation between loneliness, alexithymia, suicide probability and PIU. A significant positive relationship was also found between PIU and Hopelessness, Suicide Ideation and Hostility. Conclusion: PIU was found at a higher rate in male gender and was found to be associated with loneliness, alexithymia and probability of suicide. Prospective studies need to be based on different sampling groups to understand the underlying mechanisms that affect PIU and to explore effective preventative treatment strategies.