Brief report: Predictors of heavy Internet use and associations with health-promoting and health risk behaviors among Hong Kong university students

Abstract To examine the correlates of heavy Internet use and determine the associations of heavy Internet use with various health risk behaviors and health-promoting behaviors among Chinese adolescents, an anonymous, self-administered health behavior questionnaire was completed by 2427 matriculants...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of adolescence (London, England.) Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 215 - 220
Main Authors:	Kim, Jean H, Lau, C.H, Cheuk, Ka-Kin, Kan, Pauline, Hui, Heidi L.C, Griffiths, Sian M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2010 Elsevier John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Subjects:	Addiction Adolescent Adolescents At Risk Persons Biological and medical sciences China College Students Colleges & universities Computers Diet Eating Habits Exercise Female Foreign Countries Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Health Behavior Health Problems Health Promotion Health Services Hong Kong Humans Illness and personality Internet Internet - utilization Male Medical sciences Mental health Obesity Pediatrics Personality, behavior and health Prevention. Health policy. Planification Prospective Studies Psychology and medicine Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychology. Psychophysiology Psychopathology. Psychiatry Questionnaires Risk Risk behaviors Risk-Taking Sleep Sleep disorders Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry Student Behavior Students - statistics & numerical data Surveys and Questionnaires Teenagers Universities Weight control Hong Kong Asia China Hong Kong China Risk behaviors Sleep disorders Addiction Diet China Internet Adolescents Physical exercise Human Health promotion Use University environment Mental health Risk taking Student Adolescent Health behavior Predictive factor Public health
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Summary:	Abstract To examine the correlates of heavy Internet use and determine the associations of heavy Internet use with various health risk behaviors and health-promoting behaviors among Chinese adolescents, an anonymous, self-administered health behavior questionnaire was completed by 2427 matriculants into a Hong Kong university (mean age = 18.9 y) and returned at compulsory health examination. Of students, 14.8% reported heavy Internet use (>4 h/day) and such use was associated with lower likelihood of engaging in health-promoting activities such as exercising and seeking medical care. At the same time, heavy Internet use was correlated with multiple risk behaviors such as skipping meals and sleeping late as well as poorer health outcomes such as higher likelihood of being overweight or having hypersomnia. Given the double burden of poorer health outcomes and fewer health-promoting behaviors, heavy Internet users represent a particularly challenging group for adolescent health promotion.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0140-1971 1095-9254
DOI:	10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.03.012