The Prediction of Internet Addiction Based on Psychological Well-being and Differentiation of Self

Internet use is recognized as an essential part of modern life. Owing to web-based technologies and increases of Internet access. In recent years, the term “addiction” has been expanded beyond substance dependence to include non-substance-related behaviors that cause problems and impairment. Proposed “process” or “behavioral” addictions have included such varied themes as shopping; exercise; gaming; and forms of Internet-enabled behavior such as online video gaming, socializing through social media, and various forms of sexual behavior. Considerable research to support these new addictions appears to follow a “me too” approach as investigators test for similarities with substance addictions and impulse control disorders that already appear in diagnostic manuals. Addiction to a substance and addiction to a behavior may look similar in their effects on behavioral patterns, emotions, and physiology. On the other side of this popularity, a new psychological disorder has emerged: “Internet addiction”, also inconsistently referred to as “excessive Internet use” “problematic Internet use” “Internet dependency” or “pathological Internet use”. Maladaptive use of the Internet results in Internet addiction. Within the field of behavioral addictions, the subject of Internet addiction (IA) is of considerable interest. With the advent of the phenomenon of Internet addiction following the advancement of technology in recent years, the psychosocial dimensions of the lives of individuals have been negatively affected. The purpose of this study was to the prediction of internet addiction based on psychological well-being and differentiation of self.

The research method was descriptive-correlational and the statistical population consisted of all students of the faculty of humanities of Islamic Azad University, Tehran University of Science Sciences during the 2016-2017 year, among them, 208 were selected by multi-stage sampling method. The study tool was Young Internet Addiction Test (1998); Ryff psychological well-being scale-short form (1998) and Skowron & Schmitt Differentiation of Self Inventory (2003).

The regression coefficient between psychological well-being and Internet addiction were negative and significant at 0.01 level (P < 0.01, β = -0.289). The regression coefficients of the component of i-position was negative (P < 0.05, β = -0.179) and emotional cut off (P < 0.05, β = - 0.176) were positive and significant at 0.05.

In recent years, unfavorable growth environments that lead to lower differentiation and lower psychological well-being tend to increase the linkage with the virtual world, so attention to the child's developmental environment and psychological well-being and the factors affecting its increase is of particular importance.