Relationship between early maladaptive schema and internet addiction: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Over the past decade the concept of Internet Addiction has grown in terms of its acceptance as a legitimate clinical disorder often requiring treatment. Many hospitals and clinics have emerged with outpatient treatment services for Internet Addiction. Most recently, the findings of this research area has led American Psychiatric Association to include the diagnosis of Internet Addiction in the Appendix in the DSM-V. The purpose of the present research was to investigate the relationship between Early Maladaptive Schema and Internet Addiction among students. This research is a crosssectional survey. Statistical population of the study included undergraduate and postgraduate students of Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran. 195 students by using simple sampling method were selected. The Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF) and Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS) were applied as measuring Instruments. To analyze the data Pearson Correlation and regression method were used. Results indicated that there was a significant relationship between 5 domains of Early Maladaptive Schema and Internet Addiction in students. Also, there was a significant relationship between each 15 dimensions of Early Maladaptive Schema with Internet Addiction. According to research findings, the formatting schema during early years can be strong factor in the tendency to use internet. It is essential that more detailed studies should be carried out in this area, particularly about internet addiction.