211 Copyright © 2018 by the University Clinical Centre Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 Center for Mental Health, Široki Brijeg Health Care Center, Široki Brijeg Bosnia and Herzegovina; 2 University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia; 3 Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina Correspondence: kristina.sesar@f.sum.ba Tel.: + 387 63 313 831 Fax.: + 387 36 355 426 Received: March 6, 2018 Accepted: September 3, 2018 Key words: Problematic internet use ■ Depression ■ Anxiety ■ Stress ■ Secondary school students. Problematic Internet Use and Emotional States Among Secondary School Students Kristina Sesar 1 , Arta Dodaj 2 , Marija Jurišić 3 Original article Central Eur J Paed 2018;14(2):211-223 DOI 10.5457/p2005-114.220 Objective – Te aim of the present study was to investigate the re- lationship between problematic Internet use and negative emotional states among secondary school pupils. Method – Te sample consist- ed of 326 participants, ranging from 16 to 19 years of age. A Croatian adaptation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale was used to assess negative emotional state levels. Te problems related to Internet use (obsession, neglect and control disorders) were assessed using the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. Results – Girls had statisti- cally more signifcant difculties with the inability to control Internet use and with the inability to end Internet use, in comparison to boys. Pupils who spent more time on the Internet had higher results on the obsession, neglect and control subscales in comparison to those who spent less time on the Internet. Furthermore, girls experienced higher levels of anxiety and stress than boys. Te results of the regression analyses revealed that depression was signifcantly predicted by the time spent on the Internet and all three forms of problematic Internet use. In addition, it was found that neglect of daily activities and time spent on the Internet predicted negative emotional states of anxiety and stress. Conclusion – Te results of this study confrm the positive relationship between problematic Internet use and negative emotional states in adolescents. Introduction Te attention of researchers in the past two decades has been directed towards research- ing problematic Internet use (1, 2) which is also often called “Internet addiction” or “pathological Internet use” (3, 4). Problem- atic Internet use is most commonly concep- tualized as an inability to control Internet use, which leads to negative results in every- day socio-emotional functioning (5). Te Internet addiction symptoms as described by Young (6) encompasses compulsive use of Internet, withdrawal syndrome due to an increase in the Internet usage and symptoms related to negative impact on physical and social activities. Studies about the prevalence of prob- lematic Internet use among adolescents un- doubtedly indicate that Internet addiction is a global problem (7-14). According to the results of these studies, between 2% and 11% of adolescents were classifed as problematic Internet users (12, 14, 15). A recent com- prehensive systematic review of risk factors related to problematic Internet use indicated a wide range of socio-demographic, Internet use, and psychosocial factors, as well as co- morbid symptoms and disorders associated Paediatric Psychology