Association of Internet Addiction in High School Students with ADHD and Tobacco/Alcohol Use.

Objective: Our study aims a t assessing th e association betwe e n in te rn e t addiction (IA) and a tte n tio n deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and tobac co and alcohol use/experimentation in high school students living in th e province o f Zonguldak. Method: The study included 771 students enrolled in th re e high schools. They w ere assessed with a sociodemographic data form prepared by th e researchers, th e Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS), and th e Adult A tten tio n Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) Diagnostic and Assessment Inventory based on th e DSM-IV. Results: In 61 cases (7.9%), IA was established, in 90 cases (11.7%) ADHD. O f th e cases with IA, 40 (65.6%) were male, 21 (34.4%) female. Internet access from home (p<0.001) and tobac co (p<0.001) o r alcohol (p<0.001) use/experimentation history w ere found to be associated with higher CIAS scores. The rate of ADHD was found to be higher among those with IA (36.1%) than those with o u t IA (9.6%). There was a significant correlation between ADHD scale scores and CIAS scores (r=0.38, p<0.001). Conclusion: According to our results, IA is associated with ADHD and alcohoi/tobacco use. There is a need for follow-up studies to assess th e causality o f th e association between ADHD, tobacco o r alcohol use, and IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]