Internet addiction has been positively identified in Palestinian university students in rates far above their age peers in other countries and settings (Mahamid & Berte, 2018).  Despite this consistent finding it is unclear what the psychological mechanism of the creation and substance of addictive internet use in this unique population.  This study was initiated to analyze in more depth the relationship between symptoms of depression and anxiety when related to excessive and addictive internet use patterns.

The study included a sample of over 544 university students in An- Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine (ANNU) reflecting a normalized cross section of the population.  Measures of excessive and addictive patterns of use were measured by the Internet Addiction Scale (Young, 2012) while anxiety symptoms were evaluated by the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (Taylor, 1953).  Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Scale (Beck, 1996).

Findings revealed that generally in the population internet use that is excessive and demonstrated addictive properties is prevalent in the population with a majority of the subjects reaching the level of Internet addiction. Anxiety was also found to be of concern in the population while depression, surprisingly was less so. The relationship between the variables of addictive internet use, depression and anxiety were found to be significantly correlated to both anxiety (r = .23**, p < 0.01) and depression (r = .16**, p < 0.01).  These findings were consistent with no gender, academic level, residence or field of study differences.

The results of this study assist in identifying and analyzing the relationships between mental health symptomology and addictive behaviors, specifically internet addiction in situations of high stress where other addictive outlets (alcohol, illegal substances, gambling, and sexual promiscuity, etc.)may be unavailable. Further work in attempting to understanding the chronological development of the behaviors and symptoms will enable professionals to determine the causal or trajectory relationships between anxiety, depression and internet use.

KEY WORDS: Internet Addiction, Depression, Anxiety, Palestine

Title

Journal of Concurrent Disorders

Publisher

Journal of Concurrent Disorders

Publisher Country

Canada

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

None

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

1

Year

2020

Pages

1-22