Recognizing internet addiction: Prevalence and relationship to academic achievement in adolescents enrolled in urban and rural Greek high schools

This study aims: a) to estimate the prevalence of internet addiction among adolescents of urban and rural areas in Greece, b) to examine whether the Internet Addiction Test cut-off point is applicable to them and c) to investigate the phenomenonʹs association with academic achievement. Participants were 2090 adolescents (mean age 16, 1036 males, 1050 females). Youngʹs (1998) Internet Addiction Test and her Diagnostic Questionnaire were applied. School recordsʹ grades were retrieved. A 3.1% prevalence revealed, while boys {F (1, 1642) = 6.207, p < .05}, urban residents {F (1, 1642) = 5.53, p > .05} and academic track high school students {F (1, 1642) = 5.30, p < .05} were at higher risk. An Internet Addiction Test score of 51 points (sampleʹs mean = 27.69, SD = 17.38) was proposed as the optimal cut-off point combining high sensitivity (98%) and specificity (91%). Finally, findings illustrated the syndromeʹs relation to worse academic achievement {F (1, 1725) = 0.93, p > .05}.