Modeling Internet Addiction Based on Interpersonal Sensitivity and Parents’ Marital Conflict with the Mediating Role of Effortful Control in Students of Ardabil City in the 2020 Academic Year: A Descriptive Study

Sensitivity to interpersonal interactions and marital conflicts plays an important role in the tendency of children to become addicted to the Internet. The aim of this study was to model Internet addiction based on interpersonal sensitivity and parents’ marital conflict with the mediating role of effortful control in students.

The present research method is descriptive. The statistical population was all first and second year high school students in Ardabil in 2020. A sample of 239 people from this population was selected by available sampling method and answered the questionnaires of Internet addiction, Effortful Control, Interpersonal Sensitivity and Parents’ Marital Conflict. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling.

The results showed that Internet addiction was positively correlated with the total score of interpersonal sensitivity (r=0.57, p<0.001) and parents’ marital conflict (r=0.36, p<0.001) and had a negative correlation with effortful control (r=-0.44, p<0.001). Effortful control was also negatively related to the total score of interpersonal sensitivity (r=-0.21, p<0.001) and parents’ marital conflict (r=-0.17, p<0.001). Model fit indices also confirmed the effect of interpersonal sensitivity and parents’ marital conflict on Internet addiction with the mediating role of effortful control.

The results of this research can be used in creating applications and workshops for adolescents who are addicted to the Internet as well as in the prevention of Internet addiction.