Internet Addiction and Depressive Symptoms Among High School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55018/janh.v8i2.706Keywords:
Adolescent, Depression, Internet Addiction, Mental Health, StudentsAbstract
Background: Internet addiction has become an emerging public health concern among adolescents and has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms. However, limited evidence is available regarding the association between internet addiction and depressive symptoms among Indonesian high school students. Therefore, this study examined the association between internet addiction and depressive symptoms among high school students.
Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study, reported according to the STROBE guidelines, was conducted among 81 Grade XI students at a State Senior High School 1, Kendal Regency, Indonesia, from June to August 2025. Internet addiction was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and depressive symptoms were assessed using the the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation test.
Results: Most participants were female (56.8%) and aged 17 years (58.0%). The mean IAT score was 47.52 ± 15.43, while the mean PHQ-9 score was 8.96 ± 5.64, indicating predominantly mild internet addiction and mild depressive symptoms. Internet addiction showed a moderate positive correlation with depressive symptoms (r = 0.512, p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Internet addiction was positively associated with depressive symptoms among adolescents. These findings provide preliminary evidence that may inform future school-based digital wellness and adolescent mental health initiatives
Downloads
References
Arnani, K. D. N. (2021). Internet Gaming Disorder: Prevention Adolescent Programs for Indonesia. Jurnal PROMKES, 9(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.20473/jpk.v9.i1.2021.50-58
Aziz, M., Chemnad, K., Al-Harahsheh, S., Abdelmoneium, A. O., Baghdady, A., & Ali, R. (2024). Depression, stress, and anxiety versus internet addiction in early and middle adolescent groups: the mediating roles of family and school environments. BMC Psychology, 12(1), 184. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01659-z
Bibbins-Domingo, K., Brubaker, L., & Curfman, G. (2025). The 2024 revision to the Declaration of Helsinki: modern ethics for medical research. Jama, 333(1), 30–31. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.22530
Chen, W., Gao, Y., Ren, R., Bi, Y., & Liao, Y. (2025). Socioeconomic status and internet addiction: double-mediated moderation. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21153-w
Daka, R., Rambe, A., Ilma, R., Bethani, B. P. J., Nadia, N., Pratiwi, D., & Helmi, T. A. R. (2025). Adolescent Mental Health In The Digital Age: A Systematic Review Of Social Media Impact And Psychosocial Determinants. Jurnal Promkes, 13(SI2), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.20473/jpk.v13.isi2.2025.201-208
Dian, C. N., Effendy, E., & Amin, M. M. (2022). The Validation of Indonesian Version of Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 10(T7), 193–198. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.9293
Du, W., Fan, Z., Li, D., & Wu, M. (2024). Internet Use Behavior and Adolescent Mental Health: The Mediating Effects of Self-Education Expectations and Parental Support. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17(March), 1163–1176. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S449353
Hammad, M. A., Alyami, M. H. F., & Awed, H. S. (2024). The association between internet addiction and sleep quality among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Annals of Medicine, 56(1), 2307502. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2024.2307502
Huang, I.-L., Liu, C.-Y., & Chung, M.-H. (2023). Sleep quality and internet addiction among junior college students; The mediating role of depression: A cross-sectional study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 46, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2023.06.011
Ismail, A. (2024). The relationship between internet addiction and stress, anxiety, and depression in adolescents in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 77, 111–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2024.03.007
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ‐9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606–613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606
Li, C., Zhang, Y., Chang, R., Wei, M., Jiang, Y., & Zhang, J. (2024). The mediation and interaction effects of Internet addiction in the association between family functioning and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A four-way decomposition. Journal of Affective Disorders, 356, 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.103
Li, J.-B., Lau, J. T. F., Feng, L.-F., Zhang, X., Li, J.-H., Mai, J.-C., Chen, Y.-X., & Mo, P. K. H. (2022). Associations of intensity and emotional connection related to online social networking use on the risk of incident depression among Chinese adolescents: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 308, 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.029
Li, Y., Shi, J., Luo, B., Xiong, A., Xiong, S., Wang, J., & Liao, S. (2025). Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in university students: Latent profiles, network structure, and symptomatic pathways to suicide risk. Depression and Anxiety, 2025(1), 4591408. https://doi.org/10.1155/da/4591408Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Liu, Z., & Kuai, M. (2025). The global burden of depression in adolescents and young adults, 1990–2021: Systematic analysis of the global burden of disease study. BMC Psychiatry, 25(1), 767. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07201-8
Ma’ruf, F., Pattiasina, P. J., Setiawati, R., Camerling, B. C. F., & Tuasela, P. E. (2024). The Influence of Social Media Usage, Internet Access, and Mobile Device Penetration on Social Interaction Quality among Adolescents in Indonesia. The Eastasouth Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 1(03), 106–119. https://doi.org/10.58812/esssh.v1i03.275
Ma, Y., Li, J., Zhang, M., Zuo, T., Kong, L., & Yang, Y. (2024). Relationship between social anxiety and sleep quality in depressed adolescents: the mediating role of internet addiction. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1416130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1416130
Mastorci, F., Lazzeri, M. F. L., Vassalle, C., & Pingitore, A. (2024). The transition from childhood to adolescence: Between health and vulnerability. Children, 11(8), 989. https://doi.org/10.3390/children11080989
Méndez, M. L., Padron, I., Fumero, A., & Marrero, R. J. (2024). Effects of internet and smartphone addiction on cognitive control in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review of fMRI studies. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 159, 105572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105572
Purboningsih, E. R., Massar, K., Hinduan, Z. R., Agustiani, H., Ruiter, R. A. C., & Verduyn, P. (2025). Parental mediation strategies for social media use: a thematic analysis of perspectives among Indonesian parents and adolescents. Behaviour & Information Technology, 44(12), 2838–2859. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2413454
Rakhmawati, W., Kosasih, C. E., Widiasih, R., Suryani, S., & Arifin, H. (2021). Internet Addiction Among Male Adolescents in Indonesia: A Qualitative Study. American Journal of Men’s Health, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211029459
Roy, C., Whetsell, M. V, & Frederickson, K. (2009). The Roy adaptation model and research: Global perspective. Nursing Science Quarterly, 22(3), 209–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318409338692
Sayed, M., Naiim, C. M., Aboelsaad, M., & Ibrahim, M. K. (2022). Internet addiction and relationships with depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance among Egypt pharmacy students: a cross-sectional designed study. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1826. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14140-6
Siste, K., Suwartono, C., Nasrun, M. W., Bardosono, S., Sekartini, R., Pandelaki, J., Sarasvita, R., Murtani, B. J., Damayanti, R., & Wiguna, T. (2021). Validation study of the Indonesian internet addiction test among adolescents. PLoS ONE, 16(2 February), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245833
Soriano-Molina, E., Limiñana-Gras, R. M., Patró-Hernández, R. M., & Rubio-Aparicio, M. (2025). The association between internet addiction and adolescents’ mental health: A meta-analytic review. Behavioral Sciences, 15(2), 116. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231166609
Tanjung, I. C. D., & Lili Rohmawati. (2023). Circumstances of Internet Addiction and Its Influencing Factors among Adolescents in the Second Years of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Jurnal PROMKES, 11(2), 149–154. https://doi.org/10.20473/jpk.v11.i2.2023.149-154
Von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007). The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. The Lancet, 370(9596), 1453–1457. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61602-X External Link
Wahdi, A. E., Wilopo, S. A., & Erskine, H. E. (2023). 122. the prevalence of adolescent mental disorders in indonesia: An analysis of indonesia–national mental health survey (i-namhs). Journal of Adolescent Health, 72(3), S70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.143 External Link
Xu, J., Chen, X.-C., Chen, L., Luo, D., Bao, W., Yang, X., Ran, J., & Xu, J. (2024). The mediating role of social connectedness and negative cognitive emotion regulation in the association between problematic Internet use and depression among adolescents. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1416073. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1416073
Ye, X.-L., Zhang, W., & Zhao, F.-F. (2023). Depression and internet addiction among adolescents: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 326, 115311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115311
Ye, X., Fong, T. C. T., & Yip, P. S. F. (2026). Longitudinal Relations Between Internet Gaming Disorder Symptoms, Depressive Symptoms, and Hikikomori Symptoms Among Young Gamers – Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model With Contextual Factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-026-02352-7
Yi, X., & Li, G. (2021). The longitudinal relationship between internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182412869
Young, K. (1998). Internet addiction test in caught in the net. New York: John Wiley and Sons. https://doi.org/10.1037/t41898-000
Zhang, G., Lin, Y., Jiang, Q., Zhao, X., & Dai, B. (2024). The longitudinal relationship between depression, internet addiction and self-control during the repeated COVID-19 pandemics: A cross-lagged study among Chinese college students. Current Psychology, 43(46), 35759–35771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06990-7
Zhang, J., Wang, E., Zhang, L., & Chi, X. (2024). Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents: joint trajectories and predictors. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1374762. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1374762
Zhou, M., Zhu, W., Sun, X., & Huang, L. (2022). Internet addiction and child physical and mental health: Evidence from panel dataset in China. Journal of Affective Disorders, 309, 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.115
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Yulia Ardiyanti, Hesti Fathan Nurfais Fauziah, Sulastri Sulastri; Fuji Dwilestari; Puspita Dinda Safira, Alvi Ratna Yuliana
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
