The association between physical activity, internet addiction and mental health among university students

Namen magistrskega dela je bil raziskati povezanost med telesno dejavnostjo, internetno zasvojenostjo in duševnim zdravjem študentov, ki se izobražujejo na slovenskih univerzah. Na podlagi tega so bili opredeljeni štirje cilji: ugotoviti, ali obstaja povezanost med internetno zasvojenostjo in duševnim zdravjem študentovugotoviti, ali obstaja povezanost med telesno dejavnostjo in internetno zasvojenostjo pri študentihugotoviti, ali telesna dejavnost vpliva na duševno zdravje študentov z internetno zasvojenostjo ter ugotoviti značilnosti študentov z internetno zasvojenostjo. Raziskavo smo izvedli s pomočjo spletnega anketnega vprašalnika, ki ga je v celoti izpolnilo skupaj 240 študentov in študentk slovenskih univerz. Preizkušanci so odgovarjali na štiri vprašalnike: Vprašalnik o osnovnih podatkih o preizkušancu in študijskem programu, ki ga obiskuje, ter o uporabi internetaMednarodni vprašalnik o telesni dejavnosti (IPAQ)Test internetne zasvojenosti (IAT) in Splošni vprašalnik o zdravju (GHQ). Ugotovili smo povezanost med internetno zasvojenostjo in duševnim zdravjem študentov ter da sta bili telesna dejavnost in internetna zasvojenost negativno povezani. Rezultati so pokazali, da telesna dejavnost ni imela vpliva na duševno zdravje študentov z internetno zasvojenostjo. Ugotovili smo tudi, da so bile za le-te v primerjavi s študenti z normalno oz. neproblematično uporabo interneta značilne naslednje lastnosti: večja dnevna uporaba interneta v prostem času, pogostejše igranje spletnih iger, gledanje slik in video vsebin ter uporaba družbenih omrežij, manjša količina skupne telesne dejavnosti, zelo naporne telesne dejavnosti in hoje ter pogostejša prisotnost slabega počutja in razpoloženja oz. težav z duševnim zdravjem. Magistrsko delo prispeva k boljšemu razumevanju internetne zasvojenosti pri slovenskih študentih, predvsem z vidika značilnosti zasvojenega uporabnika interneta in kako je tovrstno vedenje povezano z duševnim zdravjem in telesno dejavnostjo. S tem daje koristno izhodišče in ideje za nadaljnje proučevanje na tem področju.The aim of the master\u27s thesis was to investigate the association between physical activity, internet addiction and mental health among students of Slovenian universities. The research objectives were: to examine the association between internet addiction and mental health and the association between physical activity and internet addiction, to examine the relationship between physical activity and mental health among students with internet addiction and to investigate the characteristics of students with internet addiction. The study was carried out using an online questionnaire which was completed by 240 students of Slovenian universities. The participants answered four questionnaires: the questionnaire about general information about each participant, their study program and internet usageInternational Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The results revealed a positive correlation between internet addiction and mental health and a negative correlation between physical activity and internet addiction among students. The findings showed that physical activity did not affect the mental health of students with internet addiction. In comparison to the students with a normal level of internet usage, the characteristics of students with internet addiction were: longer daily duration of internet usage during free time, more often online gaming, watching images and videos online and more frequent social media usage, lower levels of total physical activity, vigorous-intensity physical activity and walking and a higher prevalence of poor well-being and mental health problems. The master\u27s thesis contributes to a better understanding of internet addiction among Slovenian university students, mainly regarding the characteristics of those who are addicted to the internet and how internet addiction is associated with mental health and physical activity. Thus, it offers a beneficial base and ideas for future research in this field