Internet addiction among psychology students: the role of resilience and perceived economic hardship

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate internet addiction among psychology students, as well as the role of resilience and perceived economic hardship in the manifestation of the phenomenon. The study involved 252 students (233 women, 19 men) of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. They completed a self-report questionnaire, which included a short version of a scale on resilience (The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale - CD-RISC), a scale on perceived economic hardship (Economic Hardship Questionnaire), and a scale on Internet Addiction (Internet Addiction Test). The results showed that students of Psychology, regardless of their academic year, make above-average/normal and excessive/addictive internet use displaying indicative behaviors (e.g., uncontrollable internet use, neglect of social life). Furthermore, based on the path analysis models, it seemed that students’ resilience is a negative predictor of above-average/normal and excessive/addictive internet use (and their indicative behaviors). An indirect positive predictive relationship was also found between students’ perceived economic hardship and their above-average/normal and excessive/addictive internet use (and their indicative behaviors) through their sense of resilience. The findings emphasize the need to implement preventive counselling actions within university campuses to engender a safe internet culture among students and strengthen their sense of resilience, especially in a period of recovery from economic crisis.