EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY, LONELINESS, SELF-ESTEEM AND INTERNET ADDICTION

Internet addiction is the inability to control one's Internet usage that results in serious impairment of various aspects of life. There is a direct relationship between poor social support, social-emotional loneliness and internet addiction. Recent research showed that Internet addiction is related to mental health state and that personality traits may affect internet users' behaviours significantly. The present research aims to explore the relationship of personality traits, loneliness, and self-esteem with internet addiction. More specifically, we aim to test the mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between self-esteem, personality traits, time spent on Internet and Internet addiction. The sample consisted of 227 high-school students. Results showed that conscientiousness and neuroticism were significantly related with internet addiction. Personality traits could be considered both protective and risk factors of problematic Internet use. A positive correlation between loneliness and internet addiction and a negative association between self-esteem and internet addiction were also found. Students who spend more time on Internet, are less conscientiousness and feels lonelier, are more exposed to the risk of addiction. Internet addiction measures could be used to identify students at risk of becoming Internet addicted. Identifying risk and protective factors could be an essential aspect of intervention programs aiming to reduce the prevalence of internet addiction among adolescents. (C) 2019 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK