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Video games and Facebook addiction among Tunisian adolescents: prevalence and associated factors

  • Amel Amara ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Nihel Omri , Manel Limam , Rania Bannour , Menel Mellouli , Mariem Ghardallou , Chekib Zedini , Jihene Sahli and Ali Mtiraoui
Published/Copyright: January 19, 2024
International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 36 Issue 2

Abstract

Objectives

As social media and online gaming technology have developed very rapidly over the last two decades, their paired issues are of growing concern worldwide. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of video game and Facebook addiction and its predictive factors among Tunisian in school adolescents.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study among in school adolescents in Sousse, Tunisia, over the first academic term of the 2019–2020 school year using a self-administered questionnaire to a randomly selected representative sample of 1,353 students. The valid Arabic version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS), the Video Game Addiction Scale (GAS-7), the Beck Depression Inventory Short Form (13 items) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED-C) were used to assess facebook addiction disorder (FAD), internet gaming disorder (IGD), depression and anxiety respectively.

Results

More than one in four pupils (26.1 %; CI 95 %: 23.8–28.4 %) were identified as problematic video game users and almost a third of participants (32.5 %; CI 95 %: 30–35 %) reported FAD. IGD was significantly associated with FAD (p<0.001). Likewise, pupils exhibiting depressive symptoms as well as those with anxiety symptoms were significantly more likely to be problematic video games and Facebook users (p<0.001 for each). Being addicted to Facebook (AOR=1.83, 95 % CI: 1.18–2.81), experiencing anxiety disorders (AOR=2.43, 95 % CI: 1.52–3.88), being male (AOR=2.51, 95 % CI: 1.95–3.23) and spending more than 4 h per day surfing the net (AOR=2.55, 95 % CI: 1.65–3.96) were the determinants of IGD in the multivariate analysis. Similarly, being addicted to video games (AOR=1.82, 95 % CI: 1.21–2.73), experiencing anxiety disorders (AOR=1.85, 95 % CI: 1.20–2.86), having experienced academic failure (AOR=1.73, 95 % CI: 1.16–2.56), and spending more than 4 h per day on social media (AOR=3.75, 95 % CI: 2.38–5.90) were the predictors of FAD.

Conclusions

The prevalence of problematic use of video games and Facebook is alarmingly high. Identifying risk factors can help screen high-risk adolescents. We need additional prevention measures addressing not just adolescents, but all risk factors.

Keywords: video games; social media – mental health; behavior; addictive – adolescents – Tunisia
Corresponding author: Dr. Amel Amara, Research Laboratory “LR12ES03” – Department of Familial and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Sousse – University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia; and Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia, E-mail:

  1. Research ethics: Authorizations were requested from the Regional Directorate of Education and Training of Sousse-Tunisia and from parents. The directors of the selected schools were informed as well as the supervisors and teachers.

  2. Informed consent: Parents have been fully informed and their consent was requested. They were free to refuse their child’s participation. Anonymity and confidentiality were ensured.

  3. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission. All authors contributed to the development of this manuscript.

  4. Competing interests: We declare that no conflict of interest, financial or other, exists.

  5. Research funding: No funding was received for this study.

  6. Data availability: The datasets are available from corresponding author upon request.

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Received: 2023-10-26
Accepted: 2024-01-08
Published Online: 2024-01-19

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Video games and Facebook addiction among Tunisian adolescents: prevalence and associated factors
  4. Social media addiction and depression and their predictors among university students
  5. Exploring the determinants of internet addiction among Peri-urban adolescents (aged 13–18) in Delhi-NCR, India: an ordered logit model analysis
  6. Investigating the effects of postural habits and awareness on early adolescent’s internet addiction levels
  7. Knowledge, awareness and decision making of population visiting north indian institute towards dental implant as a treatment modality: a cross-sectional study
  8. The acceptability of Songs of Love for youth living with chronic pain
  9. Sleep quality and its association with anxiety, stress, sleep-related beliefs and attitudes and postural control in young adults: a cross-sectional study
  10. Do health-promoting lifestyle approaches manage mental health among adolescent/young college students?
  11. Prevalence and associated factors of unhealthy diet among adolescents: cross-sectional study among Tunisian high school students
  12. Anxiety and depression during post covid-19 lockdown period among medical students, and it’s relation with stress and smartphone addiction in India
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2023-0171
Keywords for this article
video games; social media – mental health; behavior; addictive – adolescents – Tunisia

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Video games and Facebook addiction among Tunisian adolescents: prevalence and associated factors
  4. Social media addiction and depression and their predictors among university students
  5. Exploring the determinants of internet addiction among Peri-urban adolescents (aged 13–18) in Delhi-NCR, India: an ordered logit model analysis
  6. Investigating the effects of postural habits and awareness on early adolescent’s internet addiction levels
  7. Knowledge, awareness and decision making of population visiting north indian institute towards dental implant as a treatment modality: a cross-sectional study
  8. The acceptability of Songs of Love for youth living with chronic pain
  9. Sleep quality and its association with anxiety, stress, sleep-related beliefs and attitudes and postural control in young adults: a cross-sectional study
  10. Do health-promoting lifestyle approaches manage mental health among adolescent/young college students?
  11. Prevalence and associated factors of unhealthy diet among adolescents: cross-sectional study among Tunisian high school students
  12. Anxiety and depression during post covid-19 lockdown period among medical students, and it’s relation with stress and smartphone addiction in India
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