The Relationship between Depression and Internet Addiction among Paramedical Students in Larestan, Iran

Introduction: Depression is fourth leading cause of disease burden in both sexes and it is the first cause of disease burden in women in Iran. Depression in college students is more common than the general population and they are considered as high risk group for internet addiction. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between internet addiction and depression in the students in Iran. Materials and Methods: A descriptive-correlative study was carried out in two medical sciences faculties in Fars Province, Iran. The participants were selected through convenient sampling among the students interested in participation. Total 150 questionnaires were distributed out of which 119 questionnaires were returned and used in data analyses. Questionnaires included Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Internet Addiction Scale (IAS). The relationships between variables (among Depression, Internet dependence and duration of using the internet) were examined by using t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient and analysed by SPSS 20 version. Results: There was a significant correlation between internet addiction and depression (p<0.001; r=0/222). A total of 21% of subjects had mild, 18.5% moderate and 17.6% had severe depression. A total of 9.6% of samples had mild internet addiction. There was a significant correlation between average number of hours of Internet usage and BDI-II and IAS scores of students. Independent sample t-test revealed that there were no significant differences in BDI-II and IAS scores in both sexes and also marriage status of samples. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be stated that internet addiction can be considered as a predictor of depression in medical students who are increasingly dealing with the Internet today. Therefore, the planning and attention of the authorities is essential for developing methods to prevent the harm of students who play a major role in the health care of a community such as Positive Psychology Interventions (PIs) which denotes individual/group-based treatment methods that lead to positive emotions and can augment social relationships of individual.