Internet Addiction as a Determining Factor of Anxiety among Adolescents in Relation to Parental Education

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between internet addiction and anxiety among adolescents ranging from 16-20 years of age from foothills districts of U.P. and U.K. The sample includes 240 adolescents (M= 120, F= 120) selected from 1000 participants from various intermediate colleges. The tools used for measuring these variables include Internet Addiction Test (IAT, Young, 1998) and Eight State Questionnaire (Indian adaptation, Kapoor and Bhargava, 1990). An adequate research paradigm was drawn as per the need of research design. In the compliance of statistical analysis procedure “2×2×2 Ex-post facto” research design was employed, in which three independent variables (Internet Addiction, Parental Education, Gender) and one dependent variable (Anxiety) were examined. The obtained data was analysed through descriptive statistics followed by t-Test and two-way ANOVA. The findings of this study showed that addicted adolescents had more anxiety in comparison to non-addicted adolescents. Further findings revealed that low parental education promotes anxiety in addicted adolescents. No significant difference was observed in relation to Gender. In the context of anxiety, most addicted adolescents reported being tense and uneasy while they were not using the internet; restlessness and nervousness was also reported by addicted adolescents. As far as the non-addicted adolescents were concerned about exposure to anxiety, they were also anxious but very slightly; they could be treated as a low-risk group, usually which did not require any special attention.