There Are Predictors of Eating Disorders among Internet Use Characteristics—A Cross-Sectional Study on the Relationship between Problematic Internet Use and Eating Disorders

Marta Kożybska, Iwona Radlińska, Aleksandra Czerw, Grażyna Dykowska and Beata Karakiewicz
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Marta Kożybska: Subdepartment of Medical Law, Department of Social Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University, ul. Żołnierska 48, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
Iwona Radlińska: Subdepartment of Medical Law, Department of Social Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University, ul. Żołnierska 48, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland
Aleksandra Czerw: Department of Health Economics and Medical Law, Medical University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 81, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
Grażyna Dykowska: Department of Health Economics and Medical Law, Medical University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 81, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
Beata Karakiewicz: Subdepartment of Social Medicine and Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University, ul. Żołnierska 48, 71-210 Szczecin, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The aims of this cross-sectional study were: (i) to establish the prevalence of problematic Internet use (PIU) and eating disorders (EDs) among Polish students; (ii) to investigate potential correlations between the two phenomena; and (iii) to identify predictors of eating disorders among socio-demographic and Internet use characteristics in this population. To this end, a total of 1008 Polish students aged 18–40, completed the Problematic Internet Use Test (TPIU22), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and a self-designed Socio-demographic and Internet Use Survey. Men received more PIU scores ( p < 0.001), while women received more EAT-26 scores ( p < 0.05) with a significant correlation observed between those variables (rho = 0.212; p < 0.001). The strongest predictors of EDs were as follows: preoccupation with the Internet, neglect of sleep in favor of Internet use, alleviation of negative feelings while online, higher mean number of hours spent online on weekends for academic and work-related purposes, extracurricular activity, lower height and higher BMI. An association has been demonstrated between problematic internet use and eating disorders. Somewhat surprisingly, our results suggest that people at risk of EDs use the Internet primarily to fulfill their routine duties. Nevertheless, further research is needed to establish the causality of EDs and PIU.

Keywords: Internet addiction; problematic Internet use; eating disorders; students; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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