Risk Factors Associated with the Development of Internet Addiction in Students: Family vs. Learning Environment
The article treats risk factors associated with the development of internet addiction in students. The relevance of the research is accounted for by a huge gap between a great number of environment-related risk factors singled out by foreign scholars and a lack of empirical research into the relevance of the aforementioned factors for Russian students in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the research is to single out and comparatively analyze risk factors associated with family influence and the impact of learning environments on the development of internet addiction in university students in the modern world. Internet addiction is measured on a 6-point psychodiagnostic scale proposed by the authors. Risk factors associated with family influence and the impact of learning environments on the development of internet addiction in university students is measured on a 31-point scale proposed by the authors. The subjects of the research are 145 students of Russian universities (aged 18-35). The investigation shows that there are certain risk factors that have a significant influence on the development of internet addiction, these factors are associated both with family influence and the impact of learning environments. The influence of learning environments is discovered to be greater than that of family environment. However, the most pronounced risks discovered in learning environments are not associated with academic staff but with uncomfortable and under-equipped learning spaces and hostility of other students. The obtained results substantiate the feasibility of further research aimed at the investigation of specific environment-related risk factors associated with internet addiction.