Factors associated with problematic internet use among University of Gondar undergraduate students, Northwest Ethiopia: Structural equation modeling

Background For young adults and adolescents, excessive internet use has become a serious public health concern due to its negative impact on their health. It has been associated with detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. Negative academic outcomes were observed in the students, including missing classes, lower grades, and academic dismissal. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to identify factors associated with PIU among undergraduate students at the University of Gondar.Method A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar among 1514 undergraduate students from June 1-20, 2022. The study participants were selected using a stratified simple random selection procedure. Using structural equation modeling, the degree of relationship was ascertained. A p-value of less than 0.05 and an adjusted regression coefficient with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to interpret the data.Results In our study, being from non-health departments [beta = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.037, 0.181], current alcohol use [beta = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.061, 0.187], depressive symptoms [beta = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.175, 0.291], insomnia symptoms [beta = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.060, 0.196], and ADHD symptoms [beta = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.049, 0.166] had a significant positive effect on PIU, while having a history of head injury had a significant negative effect [beta = -0.12, 95% CI: -0.226, -0.021] on PIU.Conclusion and recommendation Factors such as current alcohol use, non-health department type, depressive symptoms, insomnia, and ADHD symptoms were positively associated with PIU. However, a history of head injuries was negatively associated with PIU. Therefore, strategies aimed at the early identification of PIU may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of university students.