Internet Dependency in Students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Despite several advantages of Internet, it involves serious problems and the most important ones is dependency on Internet. This study aimed to examine the Internet dependency in students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 384 students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences were selected through stratified random sampling. Young's Internet Addiction Scale was employed for gathering data. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and analytic statistic including independent t-test and ANOVA. Results: The results of 350 filled questionnaires showed that 91.7% of students were slightly dependant on the Internet and only 0.3% of them were severly dependant. There were statistically significant differences between internet dependency and sex (p=0.019, t=2.356), age (p=0.034, f=3.426), marital status (p<0.001, t=4.447), field of study (p<0.001, f=4.3), having a personal computer (p<0.001, t=4.388), knowledge of computer (p<0.001, f=6.547), knowledge of Internet (p<0.002, f=6.458), and reason for using the Internet (p<0.001, f=3.383). Conclusion: Considering high prevalence of slight dependence on the Internet among university students, development of training programs to familiarize students with the risks of dependence on the Internet is necessary.