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Psychological Well-Being and Adolescents’ Internet Addiction: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Hong Kong

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Abstract

This study examines the correlations of adolescents’ self-esteem, loneliness and depression with their internet use behaviors with a sample of 665 adolescents from seven secondary schools in Hong Kong. The results suggest that frequent online gaming is more strongly correlated to internet addiction and such correlation is higher than other predictors of internet addiction in online behaviors including social interactions or viewing of pornographic materials. Male adolescents tend to spend more time on online gaming than female counterparts. In terms of the effect of internet addiction on adolescents’ psychological well-being, self-esteem is negatively correlated with internet addiction, whereas depression and loneliness are positively correlated with internet addiction. Comparatively, depression had stronger correlation with internet addiction than loneliness or self-esteem. A standardized definition and assessment tool for identifying internet addiction appears to be an unmet need. Findings from this study provide insights for social workers and teachers on designing preventive programs for adolescents susceptible to internet addiction, as well as emotional disturbance arising from internet addiction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong

    Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung

  2. Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

    Kevin Hin-Wang Chan, Yuet-Wah Lui & Chitat Chan

  3. Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong

    Ming-Sum Tsui

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  5. Chitat Chan
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Correspondence to Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung.

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Cheung, J.CS., Chan, K.HW., Lui, YW. et al. Psychological Well-Being and Adolescents’ Internet Addiction: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Hong Kong. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 35, 477–487 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-018-0543-7

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