Prevalence of Internet Addiction and it's Effects on Psychological Well-being of Adults in Hong Kong

Recruiting

• Conditions: Internet Addiction
• Interventions: Other: Questionnaires

• Registration Number: NCT06205004
• Lead Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Brief Summary

The goal of this quantitative study is to learn about the the prevalence of internet addiction and its effects on psychological well-being of adults in Hong Kong. The main question it aims to answer is:

• What is the prevalence of internet addiction and its effects on psychological well-being of adults in Hong Kong

Participants will be invited to complete a set of questionnaire that includes assessment on their level of Internet use, depression, anxiety, sleep quality, QOL together with basic demographic data in the current situation of COVID with popularity of Metaverse..

Detailed Description

Internet addiction (IA) appeared to become serious issues since the emergence of Internet over the decades. The definition of Internet Penetration Rate (IPR) is the percentage of the entire population who has Internet usage. As of July 2022, Denmark, the UAE, and Ireland had the highest IPR, all recording 99% of their population accessing the internet. While in Hong Kong, it has reached 93.6%, not far from the first in Asia - South Korea (98%). The widespread use has shown the popularity of Internet is skyrocketing through the years.

Despite there are several studies conducted on IA from the West, the results might not be not applicable in adults in Hong Kong due to various reasons such as policies against COVID and cultural difference as lifestyle, living and social environment, family relationship style. Those might have potential influence on the engagement in physical and social activities and involvement in Internet. In addition to the emergence of Metaverse, situations, policies and people's attitude towards COVID might have changed drastically and affect the prevalence of IA in Hong Kong adult. To conclude, the effect of COVID and Metaverse on the prevalence of IA in adults in Hong Kong and the mechanisms/reasons behind is unclear.

In the present study, the investigators aim to investigate the prevalence and effects of IA on the psychosocial well-being among adults in Hong Kong by measuring the level of Internet use, depression, anxiety, sleep quality, QOL together with basic demographic data in the current situation of COVID with popularity of Metaverse.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-05-19
• Status Verified: 2023-11
• Study First Submitted: 2023-11-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-01-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-01-03
• Study First Posted: 2024-01-12
• Last Update Posted: 2024-01-12
• Primary Completion: 2024-12-31
• Study Completion: 2025-06-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 298

Inclusion Criteria

• Adults aged 18-40
• Resided in Hong Kong
• Can speak Cantonese and write Chinese

Exclusion Criteria

• Self-reported to have identified cognitive problems and communication problems

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Young adults in HK	Questionnaires	questionnaire based study

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
prevalence of Internet Addiction	at day 1	Internet Addiction Test (IAT-20) developed by Young, 1998

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety	at day 1	Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) by Spitzer et al, 2006
Depression	at day 1	Center for Epidemiologic Studes Depression scale (CES-D) by Radloff, 1977
Overall Quality of Life	at day 1	Short-Form Six-Dimension (SF-6D) by Professor John Brazier and Jennifer Roberts
Sleep Quality	at day 1	The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) by Buysse et al, 1989

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Katherine Lam; 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, Hong Kong,China, Hong Kong