فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

INTRODUCTION: Internet addiction refers to the excessive use of the internet that causes mental,social, and physical problems. According to the high prevalence of internet addiction among universitystudents, this study aimed to determine the effect of an educational intervention on preventivebehaviors of internet addiction among Tehran University of Medical Sciences students.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a quasi‑experimental study conducted among femalecollege students who live in the dormitories of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Two‑stagecluster sampling was used for selection of eighty participants in each study groups; data werecollected using “Young’s Internet Addiction” and unstructured questionnaire. Validity and reliabilityof unstructured questionnaire were evaluated by expert panel and were reported as Cronbach’salpha. Information of study groups before and 4 months after the intervention was compared usingstatistical methods by SPSS 16.RESULTS: After the intervention, the mean scores of internet addiction, perceived barriersconstruct, and the prevalence of internet addiction significantly decreased in the intervention groupthan that in the control group and the mean scores of knowledge and Health Belief Model (HBM)constructs (susceptibility, severity, benefits, self‑efficacy) significantly increased.CONCLUSIONS: Education based on the HBM was effective on the reduction and prevention ofinternet addiction among female college students, and educational interventions in this field arehighly recommended.