Influence of different facets of internet addiction on subjective well-being in Malaysia: a comparison across ethnic groups
Despite a growing awareness that internet addiction is becoming a significant public health issue, there is limited research on how multiple facets of internet addiction relates to the humanistic concepts of well-being, particularly those captured in Diener's three subjective well-being dimen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2020
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16050/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/16050/1/38068-131027-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | Despite a growing awareness that internet addiction is becoming a significant public health issue,
there is limited research on how multiple facets of internet addiction relates to the humanistic
concepts of well-being, particularly those captured in Diener's three subjective well-being dimensions:
life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect across ethnic groups. Thus, this study aimed to
investigate the relationship between different facets of internet addiction and the three subjective
well-being dimensions in Malaysia. The research work also sought to investigate if the relationship
operates equivalently across ethnic groups. Malaysians (n = 400, 66.5% female; age in years
M = 24.52, SD = 5.7) completed Satisfaction with Life Scale and the PANAS. Structural equation
modelling was used to examine these associations. Results showed that six facets of internet
addiction, such as mood modification, impaired control, conflict, preoccupation, tolerance, and
withdrawal, were significant predictors of lower subjective well-being on almost all scales across the
total sample size. Invariances analyses also indicated that there were a few significant ethnic
differences across these predictors for subjective well-being. The findings highlight the importance of
efforts to reduce various characteristic symptoms of internet addiction to mitigate its harmful effects
on subjective well-being across ethnic groups in Malaysia. |
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