Determinants and Impacts of Internet Addiction on Well-being and Educational Adjustment of University Students

Abstract

The present research aimed to investigate the determinants and impacts on internet addiction on wellbeing and educational adjustment of Thai University students. The major purposes of this current study were (1) to establish the psychometric properties of the Thai translated questionnaires of parenting styles, self-regulation, educational adjustment and psychological well being in Thai settings; (2) to investigate the direct and indirect influences of parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive )on educational adjustment and psychological well-being mediated by self-regulation and internet addiction among university students in Thailand; (3) To examine the influence of parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) on self-regulation among University students in Thailand; and (4) to examine if parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) influences the tendency of internet addiction among University students. Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ), the Internet Addiction Scale (IA T), the Parental Authority Questionnaire (P AQ), Educational adjustment Scale (EAS)and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were the instruments used to collect data from 794 university students from 10 universities in Thailand. The results of the study indicated a direct positive relationship between authoritarian parenting style and life satisfaction and educational adjustment. Permissive parenting style also has a positive relation on educational adjustment. The result also indicates an indirect relationship parenting styles on education adjustment mediated by self-regulation and Internet addiction. The more positive parenting the students experience, that is the more authoritative their parents are, better are their self- regulatory skills and better are their educational adjustment; similarly the more authoritative the parents are lower were their addiction to Internet and better were their educational adjustment. The general parenting styles used are more authoritarian m Thai setting and students were experiencing higher life satisfaction with this style.