Effect of COVID-19 Anxiety on Internet Addiction of Medical Students: By Moderating Demographic Variables

Abstract

Background: Most medical students assist in providing services to patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Therefore, promoting their mental health will increase care outcomes. Medical students may use the Internet more than other students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and Internet Addiction (IA) level among students of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on about 710 medical students of Babol Medical Sciences University, Iran, from September 2020 to June 2021. The links of web-based tools were provided through virtual networks. Data were collected using a the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (C-19AS). Data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in AMOS and SPSS software. Results: The results of the present study showed that the mean score of IA was 52.55 (18.31) and most students (41.1%) had moderate IA. The mean score of C-19AS was 18.97 (11.64) and most participants (40.7%) were normal and 30.6% of them had mild COVID-19 anxiety. There was a significant relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and IA (r = 0.20; p < 0.001). The variables of having a history of COVID-19, having a family history of COVID-19, and the amount of daily Internet use played a moderating role in the relationship between COVID-19 anxiety and IA. Conclusions: The results showed that the IA scores of most students were moderate and most of the students had normal COVID-19 anxiety. Moreover, the IA level increased with increase in COVID-19 anxiety.