Internet Addiction and Anxiety Among Greek Adolescents: An Online Survey

Abstract

The relationship between Internet addiction and anxiety symptomatology is a scientific field of particular research interest. Internet addiction creates emotional, psychological and social dysfunctions in several aspects of an individual’s life such as at home, at school and/or at work. During the sensitive period of adolescence these dysfunctions may be determinants for the development in adulthood. The main purpose of the present study was to identify the Internet addicted students aged from 13 to 15-years-old and assess the coexistence of anxiety psychopathological symptomatology. Another aim of the present study was to use an online application in order to deliver the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire of Young and the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The results of the present study revealed that 15.3% of participants were found to be Internet addicted. These adolescents presented higher anxiety symptomatology compared with their average peers in the aforementioned psychopathological scale. Evolution of research in problematic use of Internet and the subsequent emerge of effects on adolescence psychology requires innovation of highly sophisticated measurement and assessment tools. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.