The role of depression, personality, and future time perspective in internet addiction in adolescents and emerging adults

With the increase in the popularity of the Internet, more and more of its users are becoming addicted to it. Special focus in this study is placed on adolescents and emerging adults who constitute the largest number of users in Poland. The participants in the study were 718 individuals aged 12 to 30 (M = 17.57, SD = 3.63). There were two groups: 390 adolescents (aged 12-17 years, M = 14.71 years, SD = 0.99; 192 females) and 328 emerging adults (aged 18-30 years, M = 20.96 years, SD = 2.54; 197 females). The respondents completed: the Polish versions of Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the IPIP-BFM-20 questionnaire measuring the Big Five, and the Future Time Perspective Questionnaire. The results showed that depression had the highest predictive power for IA. Personality traits were related to Internet addiction. In both groups, conscientiousness and agreeableness had negative contribution to Internet addiction. In the group of adolescents extraversion was a positive predictor of IA, whereas in emerging adults intellect was a negative predictor of IA. FTP long and FTP goals were predictors of IA in the group of emerging adults.