Correlates of Internet Addiction among Adolescents

Alfred D. Waldo^*

Philippine Mental Health Association, Baguio-Benguet Chapter, Baguio City 2600, Philippines.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2014.518203                

Abstract

Internet addiction is a broad concept. Despite inconclusive or inconsistent definition for this disorder, usage of the internet is growing rapidly each year especially among adolescents, making it imperative to look into factors that can be correlated to it. The study provided description on adolescent internet addiction and examined significant differences in terms of gender, type of school and online behaviors. Further, the relationship of adolescent internet addiction to spiritual intelligence, psychological wellbeing and social desirability was explored. Questionnaires were used in the data collection; findings suggest that adolescents are frequent online users and that there are significant differences in terms of gender, school type, and online behaviors; social desirability had a strong positive relationship with adolescent internet addiction.

Keywords

Adolescents, Internet Addiction, Spiritual Intelligence, Psychological Wellbeing, Social Desirability

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Abbott, R. A., Ploubidis, G. B., Huppert, F. A., Kuh, D., Wadsworth, M. E., & Croudace, T. J. (2006). Psychometric Evaluation and Predictive Validity of Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Items in a UK Birth Cohort Sample of Women. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4, 76.
[2]	Austria, A. T. (2009). Perceived Riskiness and Frequency of Participation in Risk Behaviors among Selected Filipino Adolescent Offenders in Baguio City. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Bonifacio St. Baguio City: Saint Louis University.
[3]	Azadeh, F., Fatemeh, S., & Rouhparvar, A. (2012). The Predictive Role of Loneliness and Internet Addiction and the Moderating Role of Field of Study and Gender in Students. www.primejournal.org
[4]	Bastani, S. (2008). Gender Division in Computer and Internet Application: Investigation of the Students of Tehran Universities. Women Studies, 5, 45-64.
[5]	Beutel, M. E., et al. (2011). Regular and Problematic Leisure-Time Internet Use in the Community: Results from a German Population-Based Survey. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14, 291-296. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0199
[6]	Block, J. J. (2008). Issues for the DSM-V: Internet Addiction. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 306-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07101556
[7]	Chang, J. & Hung, C. (2008). Problematic Internet Use. http://iacapap.org/wp-content/uploads/H.6-internet-addiction-072012.pdf
[8]	Chen, S., & Fu, Y. (2009). Internet Uses and Academic Achievement: Gender Differences in Early Adolescence. http://www.thefreelibrary.com
[9]	Chen, Y., & Peng, S. (2008). University Students’ Internet Use and Its Relationships with Academic Performance, Interpersonal Relationships, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Self-Evaluation. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 11, 467-469. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.0128
[10]	Chou, C., & Hsiao, M. C. (2000). Internet Addiction, Usage, Gratification, and Pleasure Experience: The Taiwan College Students’ Case. Computers & Education, 35, 65-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0360-1315(00)00019-1
[11]	Chou, C., Condron, L., & Belland, J. C. (2005). A Review of the Research on Internet Addiction. Educational Psychology Review, 17, 363-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10648-005-8138-1
[12]	Crowne, D., & Marlowe, D. (1983). A New Scale of Social Desirability Independent of Psychopathology. www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1983/A1983QJ72000001.pdf
[13]	Eastin, M. S. (2005). Teen Internet Use: Relating Social Perceptions and Cognitive Models to Behavior. www.ebscohost.com
[14]	Engelberg, E., & Sjoberg, L. (2004). Internet Use, Social Skills, and Adjustment. http://www.dynam-it.com/lennart/pdf/eng%20och%20sj%20cyber%20psych%202004.pdf
[15]	Fleming, P. (2012). Social Desirability, Not What it Seems: A Review of the Implications for Self-Reports. http://tijepa.webs.com/Vol%2011.1/A2_V11_TIJEPA.pdf
[16]	Frangos, C. C., Frangos, C. C., & Sotiropoulos, I. (2011). Problematic Internet Use among Greek University Students: An Ordinal Logistic Regression with Risk Factors’ Negative Psychological Beliefs, Pornographic Sites and Online Games. CyberPsychology, Behavior and Social Networking: http://www.liebertonline.com
[17]	Griffiths, M. D. (2000). Does Internet and Computer “Addiction” Exist? Some Case Study Evidence. http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/archive/iriss/papers/paper47.htm
[18]	Hasanzadeh, R., Beydokhti, A., & Zadeh, F. D. (2012). The Prevalence of Internet Addiction among University Students: A General or Specific Problem? Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 2, 5264-5271.
[19]	Hetherington, E. M. (2011). Adolescent Autonomy with Parents as a Predictor of Low Susceptibility to Peer Pressure. www.people.virginia.edu/~psykliff/pubs/publications/charlotte%20geary.pdf
[20]	Itliong, M. S. (2006). The Constructs of Spiritual Intelligence, It’s Correlates with Stress Management and Variation across Selected Variables. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Baguio City: Saint Louis University.
[21]	Johnson, T. P., & Fendrich, M. (2013). A Validation of the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale. www.srl.uic.edu/publist/Conference/crownemarlowe.pdf
[22]	Kennedy, T., Wellman, B., & Klement, K. (2003). Gendering the Digital Divide. IT & Society, 1, 72-96.
[23]	King, D. B., & DeCicco, T. L. (2008). A Viable Model and Self-Report Measure of Spiritual Intelligence. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 28, 68-85.
[24]	Ko, C. H., Yen, J. Y., Chen, C. C., Chen, S. H., & Yen, C. F. (2005). Proposed Diagnostic Criteria of Internet Addiction for Adolescents. The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 193, 728-733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000185891.13719.54
[25]	Ko, C. H., Yen, J. Y., Yen, C. F., Chen, C. S., & Chen, C. C. (2012). The Association between Internet Addiction and Psychiatric Disorder: A Review of the Literature. European Psychiatry, 27, 1-8.
[26]	Mannell, R. C., Zuzanek, J., & Aronson, R. (2013). Internet/Computer Use and Adolescent Leisure Behavior, Flow Experiences and Psychological Well-Being: The Displacement Hypothesis. www.lin.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/CCLR11-89.pdf
[27]	Mazalin, D., & Moore, S. (2004). Internet Use, Identity Development and Social Anxiety among Young Adults. http://download.9nature.com./internet-use-identity-development-and-social-anxiety-download-w2054/
[28]	Negovan, V. (2010). Dimensions of Students’ Psychosocial Well-Being and Their Measurement: Validation of a Students’ Psychosocial Well Being Inventory. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 6, 85-104.
[29]	Oktug, Z. (2010). Gender Differences in Internet Addiction and Tendency to Express Emotions. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 1, 39-53.
[30]	Perez, J. A. (2012). International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2, No. 13. (U. © Centre for Promoting Ideas, Ed.). www.ijhssnet.com
[31]	Pudrovska, T., Springer, K. W., & Hauser, R. M. (2005). Does Psychological Well-Being Change with Age? Longitudinal Tests of Age Variations and Further Exploration of the Multidimensionality of Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-Being. Social Science Research, 40, 392-398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.05.008
[32]	Pui, M. S. (2006). Prediction of Internet Addiction for Undergraduates in Hong Kong. Unpublished Bachelors of Business Administration (Honours) Thesis, Kowloon, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Baptist University.
[33]	Qin, Y. S. (2011). A Study of Internet Addiction among Students of Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Pei Yuan, Kampar. www.readbag.com/eprints-utar-my-274-1-py-2011-0802518
[34]	Rahmani, S., & Lavasani, M. (2011). The Relationship between Internet Dependency with Sensation Seeking and Personality. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 272-277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.054
[35]	Razieh, J., Ghasempoor, A., Ajdari, Z., & Sadeghigooghari, N. (2012). The Relationship between Internet Addiction and Anxiety in the Universities Students. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4, 942-949.
[36]	Sato, T. (2009). Internet Addiction among Students: Prevalence and Psychological Problems in Japan. www.med.or.jp/english/pdf/2006_07+/279_283.pdf
[37]	Sisk, D. (2008). Spiritual Intelligence: The Tenth Intelligence that Integrates All Other Intelligences. www.dept.lamar,edu/connchair/QuickLinks/articles%202000-2003/SPIRITUAL
[38]	Springer, K. W., & Hauser, R. M. (2011). An Assessment of the Construct Validity of Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Wellbeing: Method, Mode and Measurement Effects. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Sociology and Center for Demography of Health and Aging.
[39]	Tatman, A. P., Swogger, M. T., Love, K., & Cook, M. D. (2013). Psychometric Properties of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale with Adult Male Sexual Offenders. Iowa, Sexual Abuse, 21, 21-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1079063208325203
[40]	Wang, X. (Date Unknown). The Philippines: The Pacific Bridge across Cultures. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/.../documents/pdf/countryfiles/CCC-Philippines.pdf
[41]	Whang, L., Lee, H., & Chang, G. (2003). Internet Over-Users’ Psychological Profiles: A Behavior Sampling Analysis on Internet Addiction. http://www.encognitive.com/files/Internet%20Over-Users'%20Psychological...
[42]	Xu, J., Shen, L. X., Yan, C. H., Hu, H., Yang, F., Wang, L. et al. (2012). Personal Characteristics Related to the Risk of Adolescent Internet Addiction: A Survey in Shanghai, China. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/1106
[43]	Young, K. S. (1996). Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1, 237-244. http://www.netaddiction.com/articles/newdisorder.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237
[44]	Young, K. S. (2004). Internet Addiction: A New Clinical Phenomenon and Its Consequences. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 402-415. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764204270278
[45]	Young, K. S., & Rogers, R. C. (1998). Internet Addiction: Personality Traits Associated with Its Development. www.netaddiction.com/articles/personality_correlates.pdf