Association Between Time Spent for Internet Gaming, Grade Point Average and Internet Gaming Disorder Risk Among Medical Students

Nia Kurnianingsih (Departement of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Retty Ratnawati (Departement of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Dearisa Surya Yudhantara (Departement of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Rizqi Bagus Setyo Prawiro (Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Maryam Permatasari (Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Heidyana Rachma (Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)
Adilla Surya Ariadi (Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brawijaya)

Research Journal of Life Science
Vol 5, No 3 (2018)

The negative and positive consequences of internet games were less explored among medical students’ population. The aim of this current study was to investigated the association between time spent for playing internet games and Grade Point Average (GPA) as well as Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) risk among medical students. A total of 438 students in academic year 2016-2017 completed the self-report questionnaire, that covered socio-demographic information, GPA, time spent for internet gaming/day, and IGD screening. The statistical analysis used c2 test. The average age of the respondents was 20.2 ±1.57 year. The respondents comprised of 37.13% male and 62.87% female students. The percentage of male and female players was 97.5% and 93.8% respectively. Male students were more at risk of IGD (29.56%) compared to their female counterparts (10.04%). Although time spent for internet gaming/day was associated with IGD risk (p<0.001), it was not associated with GPA (p=0.501). There was no significant GPA difference between students who played internet games <3 hours/day and >3 hours/day and those who never play at all. Further study is required to explore the factors related to GPA among medical students.