Keywords
VNS Therapy; Epilepsy; Post-operative complication; Re-intervention
Abstract
Background: In recent years, internet penetration in the island of Mauritius has increased substantially. However, increasing internet use is also associated with adverse effects especially amongst the young internet users and there is a scarcity of research in this area.
Objectives: To assess the prevalence and characteristics of internet addiction in the student population of the University of Mauritius.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study using a shortened and contextualized Internet Addiction Test (IAT) (Young, 1998) was carried out amongst 372 participants.
Results: It was observed that 5.1% of all students (4.9% males and 5.4% females) showed features of severe internet addiction. Although 42.5% perceived themselves to be addicted to the internet, they did not have significantly higher IAT scores than those who did not. There was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of internet addiction in males and females. Main online activities comprised preferentially of information searching (94.9%) chatting/communicating (90.6%) and downloading media content (87.9%). The mean daily time online was 4.9 hours (standard deviation=3.1 hours). The mean years of internet use was 7.1 years (standard deviation=2.7 years). Results of simple linear regression showed a negative correlation and a small effect size of years of internet use on IAT scores and daily time online was positively correlated with and had a mild effect on IAT scores.
Conclusion: This study provides useful information on prevalence rates and characteristics of internet addiction in young people in Mauritius. Further studies are required to follow-up the evolution of this condition to assess its impact on young people’s health over time.
Citation
Fornaro R, Incarbone G, Montalbetti A, Emanuele L, Anna Fasano F et al. (2024) VNS Therapy, Validation of Efficiency of Therapy: Case Report. SM J Case Rep 10: 4.