Internet addiction, depression, anxiety and stress among first year medical students after COVID-19 lockdown: A cross sectional study in West Bengal, India

Objectives: 1. To assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on Internet addiction on first year medical students. 2. To evaluate the associations, if any, between internet addiction, anxiety, depression and stress.

Methods: Internet addiction, depression, anxiety and stress among medical students across West Bengal have been studied using Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) scale and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). A web-based questionnaire was made and circulated via different social media platforms. All interested candidates who gave consent were included in the study. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 25.0.

Results: The study population consisted of 37.2% of males and 63.8% of females. 80.23% of the participants showed moderate levels of internet addiction. Strong positive correlation was found between anxiety and stress (r = 0.83, P < 0.05), depression and anxiety (r = 0.92, P < 0.05) and between depression and stress (r = 0.86, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The unprecedented ramifications of lockdown are incessant, with internet addiction, magnification in depression, anxiety and stress to name a few. Internet addiction coupled with psychological disorders still remains a matter of concern for medical students.