ABSTRACT
The present work aims to replicate findings linking specific personality traits with Internet and Smartphone Use Disorder (IUD/SUD). Specifically, earlier research demonstrated that tendencies toward IUD and SUD are associated with high Neuroticism and both low Conscientiousness and low Agreeableness, while IUD (but not SUD) tendencies are negatively related to Extraversion and SUD (but not IUD) tendencies are negatively associated with Openness (1). In the aftermath of the replication crisis in psychology and related disciplines, it has become increasingly important to replicate findings in psychological research. Therefore, we revisited this earlier study by investigating (i) a sample from different countries and (ii) using different questionnaires to assess IUD, SUD and the Five Factor Model of Personality than the earlier work by Lachmann et al. (1). By applying such a design, we believe that replicating results from this earlier study hints toward generalizable associations being (largely) independent from that sample's specific cultural background and instrumentation. Importantly (iii) we used a larger sample consisting of N = 773 in the present study to have higher statistical power to observe the initially reported associations. Additionally, we investigated the role of impulsivity and social anxiety on IUD/SUD, further illuminating the nature of these potential new disorders. Indeed, we were able to reaffirm the aforementioned correlation patterns between personality and IUD/SUD in the present work to a large extent, with low Conscientiousness and high Neuroticism being most robustly associated with higher IUD/SUD. Furthermore, social anxiety and impulsivity showed positive correlations with IUD and SUD, as expected.
ABSTRACT
In the present study, we investigated the relationship between depression and Internet Use Disorder (IUD) and between burnout and IUD among German as well as Chinese college students. Due to cultural differences and their implications for the individual's psychological health, we expected Chinese college students to have in particular higher IUD than German college students. We further expected to find positive relationships between depression and IUD and between burnout and IUD. Furthermore, we believed these relationships to reflect global effects and thus to be present in both samples. The data showed that Chinese college students had higher average burnout scores in the subscales MBI Emotional Exhaustion and MBI Cynicism and also higher IUD scores, but not higher depression scores. As expected, the correlation analysis revealed significant, positive correlations between depression and IUD as well as between burnout and IUD. The results are consistent in both samples, implying that the effect is globally valid. Furthermore, we observed that the relationship between depression and IUD is stronger than the relationship between emotional exhaustion and IUD in both samples, although this effect was not significant. We conclude that burnout and depression are related to IUD and that this relationship is valid independently of the cultural background of an individual.
