INTERNET ADDICTION BEHAVIORS AS PREDICTORS OF FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: A BASIS FOR INTERVENTION PROGRAM

Abstract

The internet was originally used for military purposes to facilitate
communication. However, commercialization leads to worldwide internet use.
The demand for the internet is increasing and numerous studies have been
published regarding the pathological use of the internet or internet addiction.
This study aimed to investigate internet addiction as a predictor of functional
impairment in young adults. A total of 257 young adults participated and filled
out a self-report questionnaire including Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Weiss
Functional Impairment Rating Scales Self-Report (WFIRS-S). There were 161
(62.6%) females and 96 (37.4%) males. The participants' ages range were from
18 years old to 24 years old (M=20.25, SD= 2.08). Pearson correlation was
conducted to examine the relationship between Internet Addiction (Salience,
Excessive Use, Neglect Work, Anticipation, Lack of Control, and Neglect Social
Life) and Functional Impairment (Family, Work, School, Life Skills, Self-Concept,
Social, and Risky Activities). The result shows that there were significant positive
correlations among variables at N=257, p < .05 except between self-concept
and neglect social life. Multiple regression analyses were also utilized to find
predictors of Functional Impairment (FI) in terms of Internet Addiction (IA).
Regression results suggest that IA variables namely: Salience, Neglect Work,
Lack of Control, and Neglect Social Life are possible predictors of FI in the
Family, Work, School, Self-Concept, Social and Risk. However, no evidence was
found in excessive use and anticipation of using the internet to functional
impairment. In addition, the result has shown that life skills are not associated
with any of the predictors.