The aim of the master's thesis was to investigate the association between physical activity, internet addiction and mental health among students of Slovenian universities. The research objectives were: to examine the association between internet addiction and mental health and the association between physical activity and internet addiction, to examine the relationship between physical activity and mental health among students with internet addiction and to investigate the characteristics of students with internet addiction.
The study was carried out using an online questionnaire which was completed by 240 students of Slovenian universities. The participants answered four questionnaires: the questionnaire about general information about each participant, their study program and internet usage; International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ); Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ).
The results revealed a positive correlation between internet addiction and mental health and a negative correlation between physical activity and internet addiction among students. The findings showed that physical activity did not affect the mental health of students with internet addiction. In comparison to the students with a normal level of internet usage, the characteristics of students with internet addiction were: longer daily duration of internet usage during free time, more often online gaming, watching images and videos online and more frequent social media usage, lower levels of total physical activity, vigorous-intensity physical activity and walking and a higher prevalence of poor well-being and mental health problems.
The master's thesis contributes to a better understanding of internet addiction among Slovenian university students, mainly regarding the characteristics of those who are addicted to the internet and how internet addiction is associated with mental health and physical activity. Thus, it offers a beneficial base and ideas for future research in this field.
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