The Role of Family Functions and Process on Internet Addiction among Teenagers

Family factors play an important role on onset and persistence of internet addiction and this problem mutually have an impact on family. Therefore present study aimed to investigate the role of family functions and process (parent-child relation quality) in teenager’s tendency to internet addiction.
To this end, 384 teenager students among Shiraz City schools were selected by multi stage cluster sampling and instruments were completed by them and their parents. The instruments completed by teenagers were Internet Addiction Questionnaire (IAQ) and the Parent-Child Relationship Scale, and instruments completed by parents were Family Assessment Device (FAD).
Findings: Results showed that total function, relationship, emotional responding, emotional involvement and behavioral control were strongly correlated with internet addiction but roles had a weak relationship with it. Regression analyses revealed total function, relationship, emotional responding and emotional involvement are significant predictors of internet addiction in which they could explain about 78 percent of internet addiction variance. Results of family process showed quality of relationship with mother and father are correlated with internet addiction negatively and regression analysis indicates quality of relationship with parents is significant predictor of internet addiction and it could explain 53 percent of internet addiction variance.
Family function and process have an important role on internet addiction and families with disturbed functions and parent-child relationship have more tendencies to use internet pathologically.