A Comparison of the Personality Characteristics, Identity Styles, and Thrill-Seeking of Internet Addict and Non- Addict Male High School Students

The present study aimed to compare the personal characteristics, identity styles, and sensation seeking trait of internet addict and nonaddict male high school students. It was based on a causal-comparative design. The participants consisted of 290 male students who were chosen based on the convenience sampling method from among the population of 1200 first grade high school students in Abdanan. In order to measure the variables of the study, Young’s Internet Addiction Questionnaire (1998), a shorter version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Neo-PI-R), Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale (1964), and Berzonsky’s Identity Styles Inventory (1992) were used. SPSS software, version 20, was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics, including score frequencies, percentiles, mean, and standard deviation, were computed for each data distribution, and inferential statistics, namely, the t-test, was employed to test the significance of the differences between the obtained mean scores. The results indicated that there were significant differences between internet addict and non-addict male students with regard to their personal characteristics. Internet addicts were more neurotic than nonaddicts. The mean scores of non-addicts were significantly higher than addicts regarding the variables of extroversion, acceptability, and conscientiousness. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to openness, to experience. The difference between the addicts and non-addicts’ mean scores on the Identity Style Inventory was also significant. The internet addicts obtained a significantly higher mean score on diffused/avoidant and normative dimensions of identity styles comparing to nonaddicts. However, non-addicts’ informational style mean score was significantly higher than that of addicts. Finally, there was a significant difference between the two groups with regard to the sensation seeking variable and its four dimensions (errantry, experience-seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility).