Internet Use among University Students in South West Bank: Prevalence, Advantages and Disadvantages, and Association with Psychological Health Ahmad Rayan, Abeer Mousa Dadoul, Hussein Jabareen, Zainab Sulieman, Abdulkarim Alzayyat & Omar Baker International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction ISSN 1557-1874 Volume 15 Number 1 Int J Ment Health Addiction (2017) 15:118-129 DOI 10.1007/s11469-016-9658-2
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Author's personal copy Int J Ment Health Addiction (2017) 15:118–129 DOI 10.1007/s11469-016-9658-2
Internet Use among University Students in South West Bank: Prevalence, Advantages and Disadvantages, and Association with Psychological Health Ahmad Rayan 1 & Abeer Mousa Dadoul 2 & Hussein Jabareen 2 & Zainab Sulieman 2 & Abdulkarim Alzayyat 3 & Omar Baker 4
Published online: 10 May 2016 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract University students are frequently using the Internet for educational purposes and for other purposes. Recently, there is a debate on advantages and disadvantages of Internet use and its effects on the students’ psychological health. This study examines the prevalence of Internet use, its advantages and disadvantages, and its relationship with the psychological health of university students in the southern part of the West Bank. Mixed methods employing sequential exploratory design were used. Three focused groups were included to inform the development of the cross-sectional survey. Then, a convenience sample of 144 students from three universities in the south West Bank completed the survey. The results revealed that 96 % of university students reported using the Internet. Different advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet among students were emphasized. A high rate of Internet use was associated with students’ poor psychological health. Internet use has negative and positive educational, social and psychological consequences for students. However, advantages of Internet use were shown to be more than its disadvantages. Keywords Internet . Psychological health . Advantages . Disadvantages . University students . West Bank
* Ahmad Rayan
[email protected]
1
Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordan
2
Hebron University, Hebron, Palestine, Israel
3
Ghad International Colleges for Applied Medical Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4
Faculty of Nursing, King Saudi University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Educational programs for students about the positive and negative impacts of Internet use are important to change students’ attitudes and beliefs regarding the use of the Internet. However, further studies in different cultures and settings are needed to support the outcomes of the current study. Moreover, the validation of the tools used in this study is highly imperative for scholars who are interested in future methodological studies. Acknowledgments The researchers would like to thank all universities that participated in the study as well as the students who agreed to take part in this study. Compliance with Ethical Standards Informed Consent All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all students for being included in the study. Conflict of Interest Abeer Dadoul, Hussein Jabareen and Zainab Sulieman were employed by Hebron University. Ahmad Rayan, Abdulkarim Alzayyat and Omar Baker declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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