Parmar Parth, Yogesh M, Damor Naresh, Gandhi Rohankumar, Parmar Bhavin
Department of Community Medicine, Shri MP Shah Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.
Department of Internal Medicine, Shri MP Shah Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.
Indian J Psychiatry. 2024 Jul;66(7):641-648. doi: 10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_170_24. Epub 2024 Jul 17.
Cyberbullying and excessive social media use are emerging issues among medical students, with potential implications for mental health. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying, social media addiction, and their associated mental health conditions, as well as to explore the associated factors among medical students.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 medical students in Gujarat using a self-administered questionnaire. Cyberbullying was assessed using the Revised Cyberbullying Inventory (RCI-R), social media addiction was measured using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and mental health issues were evaluated using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. A value of <0.05 was considered significant.
The prevalence of cyberbullying, social media addiction, depression, anxiety, and stress among participants was 27.5% (95% CI: 23.4%-31.9%), 32.1% (95% CI: 27.8%-36.7%), 37.6% (95% CI: 33.1%-42.2%), 41.9% (95% CI: 37.3%-46.6%), and 46.2% (95% CI: 41.6%-50.9%), respectively. Factors associated with increased risk of being a cyber victim included older age, female gender, later years of study, increased daily mobile and social media usage, social media as the preferred mobile usage, and social media addiction. Factors associated with being a cyberbully were similar, except for the male gender. Both cyber victimization and social media addiction were significantly associated with higher odds of depression [aOR-2.5 (1.6-3.9) and 2.1 (1.4-3.2)], anxiety [aOR-2.2 (1.4-3.4) and 1.9 (1.3-2.8)] and stress [aOR-2.8 (1.8-4.3) and 2.4 (1.6-3.6)].
Cyberbullying, social media addiction, and mental health issues are prevalent among medical students. Targeted interventions addressing excessive social media use, promoting responsible online behaviour, and supporting mental well-being are crucial for this population. Further research is needed to establish causal relationships and develop effective prevention and support strategies.
网络欺凌和过度使用社交媒体是医学生中出现的问题，对心理健康可能产生影响。本研究旨在调查网络欺凌、社交媒体成瘾及其相关心理健康状况的患病率，并探讨医学生中的相关因素。
在古吉拉特邦对418名医学生进行了一项横断面研究，使用自行填写的问卷。使用修订后的网络欺凌量表（RCI-R）评估网络欺凌，使用卑尔根社交媒体成瘾量表（BSMAS）测量社交媒体成瘾，使用抑郁焦虑压力量表（DASS-21）评估心理健康问题。进行了描述性统计和二元逻辑回归分析。P值<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
参与者中网络欺凌、社交媒体成瘾、抑郁、焦虑和压力的患病率分别为27.5%（95%CI：23.4%-31.9%）、32.1%（95%CI：27.8%-36.7%）、37.6%（95%CI：33.1%-42.2%）、41.9%（95%CI：37.3%-46.6%）和46.2%（95%CI：41.6%-50.9%）。与成为网络受害者风险增加相关的因素包括年龄较大、女性、学习后期、每日手机和社交媒体使用量增加、将社交媒体作为首选手机使用方式以及社交媒体成瘾。与成为网络欺凌者相关的因素相似，但性别为男性除外。网络受害和社交媒体成瘾均与抑郁几率较高显著相关[aOR-2.5（1.6-3.9）和2.1（1.4-3.2）]、焦虑[aOR-2.2（1.4-3.4）和1.9（1.3-2.8）]和压力[aOR-2.8（1.8-4.3）和2.4（1.6-3.6）]。
网络欺凌、社交媒体成瘾和心理健康问题在医学生中普遍存在。针对过度使用社交媒体、促进负责任的在线行为以及支持心理健康的有针对性干预措施对这一人群至关重要。需要进一步研究以建立因果关系并制定有效的预防和支持策略。
