Loneliness, Internet Addiction and Psychological well‐being among students in Sri Lankan Public Universities: A Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Internet usage offers great educational support for undergraduates and also it offers better chances for social interaction and communication. However, internet addiction can lead to harmful psychosocial well‐being. Hence, this study examined the relationship between loneliness, internet addiction, and psychosocial well‐being among undergraduates in Sri Lankan public Universities. A cross‐sectional study was carried out among undergraduates of Colombo, Sri Jayawardanapura, and Kelaniya Universities in Sri Lanka. Those who had been using the internet for at least for past 6 months were included in this research totalling 450 undergraduates, 150 from each university. Young’s Internet addiction scale was used to assess the problematic internet use, comprising of 20‐item. It was based on a five‐point Likert scale. Ryff’s Psychological Well-being Scale (PWS) was used to assess the Psychological Well-being of undergraduate students based on a six‐point Likert scale in this study. Loneliness has a significant positive correlation with Internet addiction (r = 0.584, P < 0.01). Further, Internet addiction has a significant negative correlation with psychosocial well‐being (r = 0.693, P < 0.01). Undergraduates with higher levels of internet addiction were more prospective to be low in psychosocial well‐being. Simple linear regression indicated that internet addiction was a significant negative predictor of psychosocial well‐being. On the other hand, findings indicated that female students’ internet addiction was greater than male students. the psychosocial well‐being of undergraduates was negatively affected by internet addiction. Therefore, it is essential to develop strategies for the inhibition of internet addiction to promote psychosocial well‐being among undergraduates.

Keywords: loneliness, Internet addiction, Psychological well‐being, University students

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-34-07

Publication date: December 31^st 2020