The Role of Psychological Disorders’ Symptoms and Emotion Regulation Strategies in Predicting Internet Addiction among Students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract Introduction: Although the Internet is a very important tool for new information in today’s life, it is largely addictive. The present study aims to investigate the role of psychological disorders and emotion regulation strategies in predicting Internet addiction among students. Method: This descriptive-correlational study is performed on ۲۵۴ students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, who are selected through multistage cluster sampling method. Participants respond to the Demographic Information Questionnaire, Young Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Derogatis & et al., Symptom Checklist-۹۰-Revised (SCL-۹۰-R) and Garnefski & Kraaij Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The obtained data are analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. Results: The results of correlation analysis show that there is a significant relationship between the symptoms of psychological disorders and emotion regulation strategies with internet addiction (p <۰.۰۰۱). The results of multiple regression analysis indicate that the symptoms of psychological disorders and emotion regulation strategies significantly predict ۳۹.۷% of the variance of Internet addiction (p <۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: Therefore, paying attention to the symptoms of psychological disorders and difficulty in regulating emotion in preventive and therapeutic program can be effective in reducing pathological use of the Internet.

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Keywords: Internet Addiction , psychological disorders , emotional regulation