Character Strengths of East Asia Adolescents and Their Relationships with Internet Addiction

Abstract

With the advancement of technology, the use of the internet has become increasingly indispensable in daily life, leading to a growing concern over internet addiction among adolescents. This study aims to explore the relationship between character strengths and internet addiction in adolescents. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of 310 Taiwanese high school students. The research instruments used were the “New Inventory of Adolescents’ Strengths”(NIAS) and the “chen internet addiction scale short version”(CIAS-10). Data analysis was performed using Pearson’s product–moment correlation, t-tests, and ANOVA. The results of the study revealed the following: (1) Adolescents scored highest in character strengths related to “Gratitude,” “Emotion Self-awareness,” and “Love,” while approximately 20.0% of students showed a tendency toward internet addiction; (2) Female participants demonstrated higher strengths in the dimensions of “Empathy,” “Gratitude,” “PersonMaking,” and “Love,” but no significant gender differences were found regarding internet addiction; (3) “Self-esteem,” “Emotion Self-awareness,” “Perseverance,” and “Self-control” exhibited a strong negative correlation with internet addiction. These findings provide a foundational basis for further research into the relationship between character strengths and internet addiction among adolescents. Strengthening specific character strengths may potentially contribute to reducing levels of internet addiction.
 Keywords: adolescents, character strength, internet addiction