Problematic Internet use, academic achievement and socioeconomic status

Abstract

Problematic Internet use (PIU) encompasses various online activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between PIU, academic achievement and socioeconomic status among adolescents in Serbia. Methods: The study sample was recruited from 48 schools and included 2113 adolescents (56% girls). Their mean age was 16.73. The Internet Use Disorder Scale (IUDS; α=0.944) was administered to students, with higher scores indicating greater Internet use-related difficulties. Results: There was an inverse relationship between the level of academic achievement and scores on the IUDS. Thus, students with best achievement had lowest scores on the IUDS (34.67 ± 12.10), followed by students with very good achievement (38.41 ± 14.10), those with good achievement (41.27 ± 15.81) and students with passable achievement (45.5 ± 16.67). The differences between these scores were statistically significant (F (3.1996) = 26.60; p< 0.05). A similar, inverse relationship was found between the socioeconomic status and scores on the IUDS, with students from a lower socioeconomic status scoring significantly higher on the IUDS (F (4.1982) = 3.23; p< 0.05). Conclusions: These findings call for longitudinal studies of problematic Internet use in adolescents with various academic achievements and from different socioeconomic backgrounds to establish any causal links between these variables.