scholarly journals Executive Functions and Problematic Internet Use among University Students: The Mediator Role of Self-Esteem

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 11003
Author(s):  
Carmen Pichardo ◽  
Miriam Romero-López ◽  
Alba Ruiz-Durán ◽  
Trinidad García-Berbén

Information and communication technologies are transforming our daily lives in a wide variety of ways, such as the way we work, study, and interact with others. There are clear benefits to be gained from appropriate use, but a problem arises when addictive and problematic use of the Internet is experienced. In this sense, several predictive factors can be related to inappropriate or problematic Internet use. For this reason, the present study aimed to analyze whether inhibition, flexibility, emotional control (executive functions) and self-esteem directly influence all variables of problematic Internet use. Furthermore, it was examined whether executive functions, mediated by self-esteem, indirectly influence problematic Internet use. The study involved 514 university students who completed three scales, one for the assessment of problematic Internet use, one for self-esteem and one for executive functions. Mediation models showed that both executive functions and self-esteem had an influence on different problematic uses of the Internet. Specifically, it was found that flexibility and emotional control were the variables with the most direct effects, as they influenced all variables of problematic Internet use. However, when self-esteem was included as a mediator, inhibition was the variable with the most indirect effects.

Author(s):  
Enrique Ramón-Arbués ◽  
José Manuel Granada-López ◽  
Blanca Martínez-Abadía ◽  
Emmanuel Echániz-Serrano ◽  
Isabel Antón-Solanas ◽  
...  

(1) Background: To examine the prevalence, and associated factors of, problematic Internet use in a sample of Spanish university students. (2) Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study of a convenience sample of 698 university students. Self-esteem, alcohol consumption, perceived social support, depression, anxiety, stress and problematic Internet use were evaluated using the Rosenberg, CAGE, DUKE-UNC-11, DASS-21 and Young’s Internet Addiction Test, respectively. (3) Results: Problematic internet use was reported by 21% of respondents. Risk of problematic Internet use was independently associated with the preferred use of the smartphone, time of exposure to the Internet, less perceived social support, problematic alcohol consumption and symptoms of stress and anxiety. We found significant association between problematic internet use and time of exposure to the Internet, residential status, alcohol consumption, self-esteem, perceived social support and psychological distress, after bivariate analysis. (4) Conclusions: A considerable prevalence of problematic Internet use was found; in our sample problematic Internet use was associated with stress, alcohol consumption, anxiety and perceived social support. Strategies aimed at the early identification of problematic Internet use may lead to an improvement in the psychosocial health of the university student population.


Author(s):  
M. Mizanur Rahman ◽  
M. Taha Arif ◽  
Fready Luke ◽  
Santha Letchumi ◽  
Fatin Nabila ◽  
...  

Background: The internet has become an indispensable tool for communication, academic research, information and entertainment. However, heavy users of the internet lead to less confidence in social skills and the tendency to be isolated. The study aimed to assess the pattern of internet use and factors affecting problematic internet use among university students.Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted among the students of a university in Sarawak, Malaysia. A multistage cluster sampling technique was adapted to select the participants. Data were collected from 463 students by self-administered questionnaire. Hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the potential factors for problematic internet use.Results: The mean age of the students was 22 years, with a standard deviation of 1.6 years. Two-fifths (61.8%) of the students had no problematic internet use. However, 35.4% had moderate and 2.8% had severe problematic internet use. Hierarchical binary logistic regression analysis found that age of the students, year of study, duration of daily internet use and use of social networking like Skype appeared to be potential predictors of problematic internet use (p<0.05).Conclusions: This study was conducted in only one university, thus did not depict the overall scenarios of the country. The implications of the findings are still worth noting in the process of designing internet addiction studies among university students. Overall, this study has unearthed some useful insights which can serve as a guide to more elaborate studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (38) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Nimra Nawaz

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the internet is the basic need of today’s technological world. Different research shows that individuals across the globe are using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to get the most up-to-date information from the internet. Similarly, university students also spend a lot of time on the internet researching and collecting material relevant to their research topics. Although different research has been conducted on the usage of the internet in different countries, research about Pakistani students is still limited. The major goal of this research was to see how internet usage affects students' academic performance particularly when it comes to increasing their grades. The objective of this research was to determine the type of internet use and the impact of the internet on students' academic achievement. Arts faculty from the University of Punjab Pakistan was selected as the universe of the study and 5 departments of arts were selected by simple random sampling and a sample of 100 students was taken through systematic sampling. The study adopted a survey research design. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers as a tool for data collection. The data was analyzed statistically, which led to the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis. Statistical results are also presented and discussed, and implications for future research are also provided. According to the findings, internet use has a positive impact on student's academic achievement.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Alejandro Romero-Tébar ◽  
Marta Rodríguez-Hernández ◽  
Antonio Segura-Fragoso ◽  
Pablo A. Cantero-Garlito

(1) Objective: to explore and describe the relationship between the occupational balance of university students taking a Degree in Occupational Therapy and the problematic use of the Internet and how these, in turn, favour or not the appearance of phubbing behaviour which involves “a behaviour that happens when an individual looks at his mobile phone during a conversation with other individuals, escaping from interpersonal communication”. (2) Methods: this is a quantitative descriptive study of an observational and cross-sectional nature, not experimental. The Spanish version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ-E), the Internet Addiction Test and the Phubbing Scale were used for data collection. 192 university students taking the Degree in Occupational Therapy of the University of Castilla–La Mancha participated (168 women and 24 men). (3) Results: the average score obtained in the OBQ-E was 38.7, indicating a moderate occupational balance; and (4) Conclusions: occupational therapy students from the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Castilla–La Mancha have a moderate occupational balance. Furthermore, this is negatively related to both problematic Internet use and phubbing, so a higher occupational balance indicates less Internet addiction and less phubbing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 1938
Author(s):  
Betül Aydın

Internet can be used in a maladaptive way to escape from or compensate perceived inadequacies or the problems experiencing in daily life. In relation to this, in this study the relationship of meaning in life, self-efficacy and self-esteem to problematic Internet use was examined. Furthermore, the role of meaning in life, self-efficacy and self-esteem in predicting problematic Internet use was investigated. The study was carried out 410 university students (280 females and 130 males) attending the different grades of various departments in a school of education in Rize, Turkey. In the study, Sociodemographic Data Form, Problematic Internet Use Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used as data collection instruments. The data were analyzed through SPSS 15.0 version and descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were utilized in the analysis. Results showed that presence of meaning in life (r=-.26, p<.01), self-efficacy (r=-.36, p<.01) and self-esteem (r=-.29, p<.01) are negatively and significantly correlated to problematic Internet use, on the contrary, search for meaning’s relationship was found in a positive way (r=.21, p<.01). Besides, presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life and self-efficacy emerged as significant predictors of problematic Internet use. By discussing these results in line with the relevant literature, directions were given for further studies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932199865
Author(s):  
José-María Romero-Rodríguez ◽  
José-Antonio Marín-Marín ◽  
Francisco-Javier Hinojo-Lucena ◽  
Gerardo Gómez-García

The problematic Internet use (PIU) has become a topic of special relevance since it is a problem that affects the whole world. It has been detected that the population at greatest risk is university students along with adolescents. At the same time, Spain is one of the countries with the highest PIU rate. The purposes of this article were to analyze the presence and degree of Internet addiction among university students and to check the sociodemographic factors that influence the PIU. To this end, 13 hypotheses were put forward and contrasted using a structural equation model. The study adopted a cross-sectional approach by applying the Internet addiction test to a sample of undergraduate students in southern Spain ( n = 1,013). The results indicated a prevalence of PIU among students of almost 12.5% and with a moderate degree of addiction. In turn, the following hypotheses that had a significant effect on the PIU were supported: gender; field of knowledge; living in the parents’ home; Internet daily use for leisure; Internet daily use for academic purposes; number of social networks; sexual orientation; marital status. Finally, the main findings of the study were reviewed, and the main recommendations and implications for mitigating the negative effects of technology and enhancing the positive ones were established.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Samira Ranaiey ◽  
Mohammad Reza Taghavi ◽  
Mohammad Ali Goodarzi

<p class="zhengwen">Because of increased attention to PIU (Problematic Internet Use), some measure had been made, but they seem to be</p><p class="zhengwen">Inadequate, due to new issue of the internet interactions. Therefore the necessity and importance of</p><p class="zhengwen">Standard, valid and reliable tools to assess PIU and the related behaviors are clear.</p>This paper presents results of a study that develops a measure of Reasons of Using Social Networking Sites (S.N.S). The reasons were based on an article by Morahan – Martin and Schumacher. The reasons were arranged as a questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by 156 volunteer students of Shiraz University. The results indicated that Reasons of S.N.S Use Scale is both reliable and valid. The result of factor analysis showed that two dimensions (Positive and Negative reasons of S.N.S use) explains total variance acceptably.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1301
Author(s):  
Miriam Romero-López ◽  
Carmen Pichardo ◽  
Isabel De De Hoces ◽  
Trinidad García-Berbén

Internet use has been steadily and unstoppably gaining ground in all areas of life, from recreational activities to the establishment of social relations. However, addictive use of the Internet is a problem that seriously affects some people. Factors that may influence the occurrence of inappropriate internet use include age and social skills. For this reason, the aim of this study is to analyze the influence of social skills and age on the development of problematic internet use in university students. The study involved 514 students enrolled at a university in Spain, who filled in two questionnaires, one on problematic internet use and the other on social skills. Multivariate multiple linear regression models revealed that some social skills variables (conversation and social ease, empathic and positive feeling skills, risk coping) predicted problematic internet use. In addition, age played a role in preference for online social interaction and deficient self-regulation. Younger students were more at risk of having obsessive thoughts related to internet use and of engaging in compulsive internet use compared to older students.


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