A Comparative Study of Internet Dependence and Its Role in Psychosocial-Mental Health of Internet User Students (Case Study: Tehran and Baku)

the extreme use or addiction to the Internet has caused psychological and social disorders, especially in young people. This study was conducted with the aim of examining and comparing the dependence level, recognizing the relationship between Internet addiction and mental health and comparing psychosocial characteristics of Internet user students. This was a descriptive and correlation study. The statistical population of the study was students from 14 to 18 years old in Baku and Tehran City. Among the internet user students, 250 students were selected from Tehran and 250 ones from Baku using cluster sampling. Data were gathered from Yang Internet Addiction Questionnaire IAT and Goldberg General Health Questionnaire GHQ and data analysis was done at two descriptive (mean, percent, standard deviation) and inferential (Pearson correlation) levels. The results of the study showed that the mean of Internet addiction test was (41.44) in Tehran and (48.75) in Baku. There was a significant relationship between internet dependency and physical health (r = 0.280), anxiety (r = 0.306), r = depression (r = 0.373), of the Internet user students in Tehran and Baku. The mean of Internet dependency in Baku users was more than ones in Tehran. There was a significant relationship between mental health and internet dependency. The greater the dependency, the more disorders, anxiety, depression was. Considering the cultural and social similarities between Iran and Azerbaijan, there was no significant difference in the level of mental health and social psychosocial behaviors among the Internet user students.