Treffer: Association between depression, anxiety and loneliness with internet addictions among public university students in Malaysia.

Title:
Association between depression, anxiety and loneliness with internet addictions among public university students in Malaysia.
Authors:
Muhamad NA; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia norasiahdr@gmail.com., Maamor NH; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Tengku Baharudin Shah TPN; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Jamalluddin NH; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Leman FN; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Rosli ''; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Nik Azhan NAF; Sector for Evidence-Based Healthcare, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia., Chemi N; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin Hospital, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia., Muhamad Rasat MA; Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health, Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia., Abdullah N; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia., Abdul Jabbar N; National Centre of Excellence Mental Health (NCEMH), Ministry of Health, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia., Ibrahim N; National Centre of Excellence Mental Health (NCEMH), Ministry of Health, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia., Mohamad Isa MF; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Source:
BMJ open [BMJ Open] 2026 Jan 05; Vol. 16 (1), pp. e108315. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jan 05.
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101552874 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2044-6055 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 20446055 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMJ Open Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: [London] : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2011-
MeSH Terms:
Loneliness*/psychology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/epidemiology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/psychology , Students*/psychology , Students*/statistics & numerical data , Anxiety*/epidemiology , Depression*/epidemiology , Behavior, Addictive*/epidemiology, Humans ; Malaysia/epidemiology ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Universities ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Prevalence ; Adolescent ; Internet ; Logistic Models
References:
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Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Adult psychiatry; Anxiety disorders; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression & mood disorders; Internet; Stress, Psychological
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20260106 Date Completed: 20260106 Latest Revision: 20260109
Update Code:
20260109
PubMed Central ID:
PMC12778270
DOI:
10.1136/bmjopen-2025-108315
PMID:
41490847
Database:
MEDLINE

Weitere Informationen

Objective: To determine the prevalence of internet addiction and examine its association with psychological factors specifically depression, anxiety and loneliness among Malaysian public university students.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: All public universities in Malaysia, 20 universities.
Participants: The study included 7278 students from 20 public universities in Malaysia.
Main Outcome Measures: Statistical analyses were performed usingSTATA V.17 software. Descriptive statistics summarised participants' demographic characteristics, prevalence of internet addiction and psychological distress (depression, anxiety and loneliness). Pearson's correlation was used to assess bivariate relationships between internet addiction and psychological variables, while multiple logistic regression identified independent factors associated with internet addiction after adjusting for significant confounders.
Results: The study found that 38.6% of the students showed signs of internet addiction, along with a high level of psychological distress; 24.8% had depressive symptoms, 32.4% experienced anxiety and 35.5% reported loneliness. Moderate positive correlations were observed between internet addiction and depression, anxiety and loneliness (p<0.00). Multivariate analyses adjusted for field of study, gender and ethnicity confirmed these associations.
Conclusion: The findings indicate significant associations between internet addiction and psychological factors such as depression, anxiety and loneliness. A comprehensive, multifaceted approach is essential to address psychological distress among university students and reduce the risk of internet addiction.
(© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

Competing interests: None declared.