Impact of Internet Addiction and Parental Education on Depression among Adolescents

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between internet addiction and depression 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) and Eight State Questionnaire (Indian adaptation, 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, and Gender) and one dependent variable (Depression) was 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 depression in comparison to non-addicted adolescents. Further findings revealed that low parental education promotes depression in addicted male adolescents whereas high parental education promotes depression in addicted female adolescents. Gender is not found to have a direct impact on internet addiction, but it plays a vital role in interactional effects. Addicted male and female have higher depression in comparison to their non-addicted male and female counterparts.