Internet Dependence in Chinese High School Students: Relationship with Sex,Self-Esteem,and Social Support

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships among self-esteem, social support, and Internet dependence. A sample of young people aged between 15 and 18 years old (M age = 16.3yr., SD =0.7; 470 boys, 441 girls) completed measures of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Internet Dependence Test. According to the cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use, social support should mediate the relationship between self-esteem and Internet dependence. Furthermore, based on previous research it was predicted that boys would score higher on Internet dependence than women. Support for this model was obtained. Internet dependent students were more likely to be boys. Self-esteem and social support were negatively correlated with Internet dependence. The relationship between self-esteem and Internet dependence was mediated by social support. Although the effect sizes were small, the findings of the present study are of significance in investigating adolescents' Internet dependence.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2010) APA announces draft diagnostic criteria for DSM-5: New proposed changes posted for leading manual of mental disorders. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://www.dsm5.org/Newsroom/Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

Armstrong

Phillips

Saling

(2000) Potential determinants of heavier Internet usage. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 53(4), 537–550.

Bai

Fan

F. M.

(2005) [A study on the Internet dependence of college students: The revising and applying of a measurement]. Psychological Development and Education, 4, 99–104. [in Chinese]

Baron

R. M.

Kenny

D. A.

(1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.

Bozoglan

Demirer

Sahin

(2013) Loneliness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction as predictors of Internet addiction: A cross-sectional study among Turkish university students. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 54(4), 313–319.

Brenner

(1997) Psychology of computer use: XLVII. Parameters of Internet use, abuse and addiction: The first 90 days of the Internet Usage Survey. Psychological Reports, 80(3), 879–882.

Bricolo

Gentile

D. A.

Smelser

R. L.

Serpelloni

(2007) Use of the computer and Internet among Italian families: First national study. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 10(6), 789–797.

Bulut-Serin

(2011) An examination of predictor variables for problematic Internet use. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 10(3), 54–62.

Cacioppo

J. T.

Hawkley

L. C.

(2003) Social isolation and health, with an emphasis on underlying mechanisms. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 46(3), S39–S52.

10.

Cao

Sun

Wan

Hao

Tao

(2011) Problematic Internet use in Chinese adolescents and its relation to psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction. BMC Public Health, 11, 802. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-802

11.

Caplan

S. E.

(2002) Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being: Development of a theory-based cognitive-behavioral measurement instrument. Computers in Human Behavior, 18(5), 553–575.

12.

Caplan

S. E.

(2003) Preference for online social interaction: A theory of problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being. Communication Research, 30(6), 625–648.

13.

Chen

Weng

Yang

(2003) Development of a Chinese Internet addiction scale and its psychometric study. Chinese Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 279–294.

14.

China Daily. (2010, February 3) Young Internet addicts on the rise. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www.china.org.cn/china/2010-02/03/content_19360107.htm.

15.

China Internet Network Information Center. (2006) 17th Statistical survey report on Internet development in China (CNNIC). Retrieved December 17, 2011, from http://www.cnnic.net.cn.

16.

China Internet Network Information Center. (2010) 26th Statistical survey report on Internet development in China (CNNIC). Retrieved December 26, 2011, from http://www.cnnic.net.cn.

17.

China Internet Network Information Center. (2014) 33rd Statistical Survey Report on Internet Development in China (CNNIC). Retrieved January 12, 2015, from http://www.cnnic.net.cn.

18.

Chou

Condron

Belleind

J. C.

(2005) A review of the research on Internet addiction. Educational Psychology Review, 17(4), 363–388.

19.

Chou

Hsiao

M. C.

(2000) Internet addiction, usage, gratification, and pleasure experience: The Taiwan college students' case. Computers & Education, 35(1), 65–80.

20.

Christakis

(2010) Internet addiction: A 21st century epidemic? BMC Medicine, 8, 61.DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-8-61

21.

Cohen

(1992) A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.

22.

Cohen

(2004) Social relationships and health. American Psychologist, 59(8), 676–684.

23.

Colley

Maltby

(2008) Impact of the Internet on our lives: Male and female personal perspectives. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(5), 2005–2013.

24.

Craig

R. J.

(1995) The role of personality in understanding substance abuse. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 13, 17–27.

25.

Davis

R. A.

(2001) A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 17(2), 187–195.

26.

Davis

R. A.

Flett

G. L.

Besser

(2002) Validation of a new scale for measuring problematic Internet use: Implications for pre-employment screening. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5(4), 331–345.

27.

Deacon

B. J.

Abramowitz

J. S.

Woods

C. M.

Tolin

D. F.

(2003) The Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised: Psychometric properties and factor structure in two nonclinical samples. Behavior Research and Therapy, 41(12), 1427–1449.

28.

Douglas

A. C.

Mills

J. M.

Niang

Stepchenkova

Byun

Ruffini

Lee

S. K.

Loutfi

Lee

J-K.

Atallah

Blanton

(2008) Internet addiction: Meta-synthesis of qualitative research for the decade 1996–2006. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(6), 3027–3044.

29.

Francos

C. C.

Francos

C. C.

Sotiropoulos

(2011) Problematic Internet use among Greek university students: An ordinal logistic regression with risk factors of negative psychological beliefs, pornographic sites, and online games. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(1–2), 51–58.

30.

Heo

Subramanian

S. V.

Kim

Kawachi

(2014) Addictive Internet use among Korean adolescents: A national survey. PLOS ONE, 9(2), e87819. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087819

31.

Hills

Argyle

(2003) Uses of the Internet and their relationships with individual differences in personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 19(1), 59–70.

32.

Huang

Jiang

Q. J.

Reng

W. H.

(1996) Coping style, social support, and psychosomatic symptoms in patients with cancer. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 10(4), 160–161.

33.

Kim

H. K.

Davis

K. E.

(2009) Toward a comprehensive theory of problematic Internet use: Evaluating the role of self-esteem, anxiety, flow, and the self-rated importance of Internet activities. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 490–500.

34.

Kim

LaRose

Peng

(2009) Loneliness as the cause and the effect of problematic Internet use: The relationships between Internet use and psychological well-being. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 451–455.

35.

Kline

R. B.

(2005) Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Press.

36.

C. H.

Yen

J. Y.

Chen

C. S.

Yeh

Y. C.

Yen

C. F.

(2009) Predictive values of psychiatric symptoms for Internet addiction in adolescents: A 2-year prospective study. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(10), 937–943.

37.

C. H.

Yen

J. Y.

Liu

S. C.

Huang

C. F.

Yen

C. F.

(2009) The associations between aggressive behaviors and Internet addiction and online activities in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 44(6), 598–605.

38.

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), 1–8.

39.

Kraut

Patterson

Lundmark

Kiesler

Mukophadhyay

Scherlis

(1998) Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017–1031.

40.

Kuss

D. J.

van Rooij

A. J.

Shorter

G. W.

Griffiths

M. D.

van de Mheen

(2013) Internet addiction in adolescents: Prevalence and risk factors. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(5), 1987–1996.

41.

Lei

Yang

(2007) [The development and validation of the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale]. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39(4), 688–696. [in Chinese]

42.

Leung

(2004) Net-generation attributes and seductive properties of the Internet as predictors of online activities and Internet addiction. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7(3), 333–348.

43.

Kirkup

(2007) Gender and cultural differences in Internet use: A study of China and the UK. Computers & Education, 48(2), 301–317.

44.

Lin

S. S. J.

Tsai

C. C.

(1999) Internet addiction among high schoolers in Taiwan. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA, August 20–24.

45.

Liu

T. C.

Desai

R. A.

Krishnan-Sarin

Cavallo

D. A.

Potenza

M. N.

(2011) Problematic Internet use and health in adolescents: Data from a high school survey in Connecticut. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72(6), 836–845.

46.

Meerkerk

G-T.

van den Eijnden

R. J. J. M.

Vermulst

A. A.

Garretsen

H. F. L.

(2007) The relationship between personality, psychosocial well-being and compulsive Internet use: The Internet as Cyber Prozac? In Meerkerk

G-J.

(Ed.), Pwned by the Internet: Explorative research into the causes and consequences of compulsive Internet use. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: IVO. Pp. 86–99.

47.

Meerkerk

G-T.

van den Eijnden

R. J. J. M.

Franken

I. H. A.

Garretsen

H. F. L.

(2010) Is compulsive Internet use related to sensitivity to reward and punishment, and impulsivity? Computers in Human Behavior, 26(4), 729–735.

48.

Morahan-Martin

(1998) The gender gap in Internet use: Why men use the Internet more than women—a literature review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(1), 3–10.

49.

Morahan-Martin

Schumacher

(2000) Incidence and correlates of pathological Internet use among college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 16(1), 13–29.

50.

Morrison

Gore

(2010) The relationship between excessive Internet use and depression: A questionnaire-based study of 1,319 young people and adults. Psychopathology, 43(2), 121–126.

51.

Murray

S. L.

Holmes

J. G.

Collins

N. L.

(2006) Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 641–666.

52.

Yan

Chen

Liu

(2009) Factors influencing Internet addiction in a sample of freshmen university students in China. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(3), 327–330.

53.

Orford

(2005) Disabling the public interest: Gambling strategies and policies for Britain. Addiction, 100(9), 1219–1225.

54.

Özcan

N. K.

Buzlu

(2007) Internet use and its relation with the psychosocial situation for a sample of university students. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(6), 767–772.

55.

Park

S. K.

Kim

J. Y.

Cho

C. B.

(2008) Prevalence of Internet addiction and correlates with family factors among South Korean adolescents. Adolescence, 43, 895–909.

56.

Rosenberg

(1965) Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univer. Press.

57.

Rosenthal

(1991) Effect sizes: Pearson's correlation, its display via the BESD, and alternative indices. American Psychologist, 46(10), 1086–1087.

58.

Sanders

C. E.

Field

T. M.

Diego

Kaplan

(2000) The relationship of Internet use to depression and social isolation among adolescents. Adolescence, 35(138), 237–242.

59.

Sariyska

Reuter

Bey

Sha

Chen

Y-F.

Liu

W-Y.

Zhu

Y-K.

C-B.

Ssuárez-Rivillas

Feldmann

Hellmann

Keiper

Markett

Young

K. S.

Montag

(2014) Self-esteem, personality and Internet addiction: A cross-cultural comparison study. Personality and Individual Differences, 61–62, 28–33.

60.

Sato

(2006) Internet addiction among students: Prevalence and psychological problems in Japan. Japan Medical Association Journal, 49(7–8), 279–283.

61.

Siomos

K. E.

Dafouli

E. D.

Braimiotis

D. A.

Mouzas

O. D.

Angelopoulos

N. V.

(2008) Internet addiction among Greek adolescent students. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 653–657.

62.

Stinson

D. A.

Logel

Zanna

M. P.

Holmes

J. G.

Cameron

J. J.

Wood

J. V.

Spencer

S. J.

(2008) The cost of lower self-esteem: Testing a self- and social-bonds model of health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(3), 412–428.

63.

Swickert

R. J.

Hittner

J. B.

Harris

J. L.

Herring

J. A.

(2002) Relationship among Internet use, personality, and social support. Computers in Human Behavior, 18(4), 437–451.

64.

Thoits

P. A.

(1995) Stress, coping, and social support processes: Where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35(Extra Issue), 53–79.

65.

Tsai

H. F.

Cheng

S. H.

Yeh

T. L.

Shih

Chen

K. C.

Yang

Y. C.

Yang

Y. K.

(2009) The risk factors of Internet addiction: A survey of university freshmen. Psychiatry Research, 167(3), 294–299.

66.

van den Eljnden

R. J. J. M.

Meerkerk

G-J.

Vermulst

A. A.

Sljkerman

Engels

R. C. M. E.

(2008) Online communication, compulsive Internet use, and psychosocial well-being among adolescents: A longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 655–665.

67.

Wang

Zhou

X. L.

C. Y.

Deng

X. Q.

Hong

L. Y.

(2011) Problematic Internet use in high school students in Guangdong Province, China. PLOS ONE, 6, el9660. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019660

68.

Wang

X. D.

Wang

X. L.

(1999) Rating scales for mental health: Chinese Journal of Mental Health. Beijing, China: Mental Health in Chinese Press.

69.

Yan

C. H.

(2006) Factors affecting the state anxiety level of higher education students in Macau: The impact of trait anxiety and self-esteem. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(6), 709–725.

70.

Yang

S. C.

Tung

C. J.

(2007) Comparison of Internet addicts and non-addicts in Taiwanese high school. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(1), 79–96.

71.

Young

K. S.

(1996) Psychology of computer use: XL. Addictive use of the Internet: A case that breaks the stereotype. Psychological Reports, 79(3), 899–902.

72.

Young

K. S.

(1998) Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(3), 237–244.

73.

Young

K. S.

Rogers

R. C.

(1998) The relationship between depression and Internet addiction. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 1(1), 25–28.