earticle

영어

Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of internet addiction among college students in Korea based on the public health model. Individual factors, environment factors, and agent factors including escape and anonymity related to internet addiction were analyzed. Methods: This study used a probability sample of 509 college students from universities located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that included standardized instruments to measure various factors and internet addiction. Results: Among the participants, 16.3% were categorized as having internet addiction and 71.1% were categorized as the high-risk group. Consistent with previous studies, male students reported higher prevalence of internet addiction(18.1%) compared to female students (15.3%). Those in the addiction group, high-risk group, and low-risk group showed significant differences in psychological factors, environmental factors, and agent characteristics. Results from logistic regression indicated that impulsiveness, easy access to a cyber cafe, anonymity and a sense of escaping reality were found to increase the risk of internet addiction. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the usefulness of public health model to understand internet addiction among young people. Previous studies on internet addiction mostly focused on individual factors, but the results of the present study confirmed the influence of environmental factors, such as easy access to internet games and characteristics of internet itself. Implications of the study in internet addiction prevention and harm reduction policy development targeting the environment are discussed.