The Online Trap: Personality Traits and The Risk of Internet Addiction among Undergraduates in Southwest Nigeria

Aims: Addiction can involve physical and psychological components because of the increasing evidence that some behaviours activate the brain reward system with effects similar to those of drugs of abuse. Personality traits are relevant factors in determining subjects’ behaviour while using the Internet. This study aimed to assess the degree of Internet use and its association with personality traits among a population of medical students and other students of allied health sciences in a Nigerian tertiary institution.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study was carried out among the students of the Ekiti State University College of Medicine, Nigeria. The study population was the entire preclinical medical students and students of allied health sciences between August 2023 and September. 2023.

Methods: Probability random sampling was adopted among the groups of students. A total of 214 study participants were enrolled. Data was collected using a questionnaire that comprised socio-demographic variables, the Young Internet Addiction Test (YIAT), and the Big Five personality traits 10-item inventory version (BF-10). Each YIAT and BF-10 used a set of responses on a Likert scale.

Results: A total of 214 (95%) adequately completed the questionnaires. About two-thirds (69.6%) of the participants were females. The mean age of the participants was 21.4(±2.54), with ages ranging from 16 years and 40 years. About nine out of ten (86.7%) of the participants who engaged on the Internet dwelled on social media. Seventy-one (42%) of the participants admitted to using the Internet for study or academic purposes. One hundred and fifty-four (72%) of the participants reported mild to moderate addiction levels (score of 31-79 on YIAT). This study revealed a statistically significant negative correlation between Internet addiction and conscientiousness (r= -0.151, p=0.029). There were negative correlations between internet addiction and extraversion (r=-0.440, p=0.525); and agreeableness (r=-0.110, p=0.871); neuroticism (r=-0.029, p=0.674); and openness (r=-0.091, p=0.187.

Conclusion: The association between Big Five personality traits and Internet addiction reveals the complexity of the relationship.