Problematic Internet use, academic achievement and socioeconomic status

Abstract

Background: 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.