Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The Role of Social Support and Subjective Well-Being as Predictors of Internet Addiction among Israeli-Palestinian College Students in Israel

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current study examines the role of personal and social resources in mitigating internet addiction. This study focuses on two main issues: the correlation between social support and internet addiction, and the correlation between subjective well-being and internet addiction, among Israeli-Palestinian college students. The sample consisted of 500 Israeli-Palestinian college students in Israel, 70% of whom were females. Participants’ ages ranged from 19 to 30 (M = 25.8, SD =4.48). They were chosen in a convenience sampling from six colleges in Israel. The research findings indicated significant correlations between both SWB and social support and internet addiction among Israeli-Palestinian students in Israel. These findings are consistent with previous literature about the contribution of these variables in enhancing one’s ability to cope with stressful and risky behaviors in Western societies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abu-Baker, K. (2008). Well-being, modern literature and art, and tradition: How Palestinian women in Israel cope with changes in their lives’. In A. Man’a (Ed.), The book of Arab society in Israel: Population, society and economics (pp. 359–384). Jerusalem: Van Leer Institute and Hakibbutz Hameuchad Press [In Hebrew].

    Google Scholar 

  • Abu-Asba, K., & Abu-Nasra, M. (2011). Attitudes of Israeli-Palestinian youth in Israel towards the risk of psycho-active drug use. Jama’a, 18(2), 163–182 [In Arabic].

    Google Scholar 

  • Abu-Raiya, H., & Agbaria, Q. (2015). Religiousness and subjective well-being among Israeli Palestinian college students. Social Indicators Research, 829–844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0913-x.

  • Afroz, N. (2016). Internet addiction and subjective well-being of university students. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 7(8), 787.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q., & Ronen, T. (2010). Self control and a sense of social belonging as moderators of the link between poor subjective wellbeing and aggression among Arab Palestinian adolescents in Israel. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 5, 1334–1345.‏

  • Agabria, Q., Ronen, T., & Hamama, L. (2012). The link between developmental components (age and gender), need to belong and resources of self-control and feelings of happiness, and frequency of symptoms among Arab adolescents in Israel. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(10), 2018–2027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.03.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q. (2013). Depression among Arab students in Israel: The contribution of religiosity, happiness, social support and self-control. Sociology Study, 3(10), 721–738.

  • Agbaria, Q. (2014a). Depression among Muslim Arab students: The contribution of spiritual, social and cognitive factors. Psychology Research, 4(6), 428–440. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.52013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q. (2014b). Religiosity, social support, self-control and happiness as moderating factors of physical violence among Arab adolescents in Israel. Creative Education, 5(2), 75–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q. (2019). Predictors of personal and social adjustment among Israeli-Palestinian teenagers. Child Indicators Research, 1–17.

  • Agbaria, Q., & Bdier, D. (2019). The role of self-control and identity status as predictors of internet addiction among Israeli-Palestinian college students in Israel. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00172-4.

  • Agbaria, Q., & Bdier, D. (2020). Internet addiction among Israeli-Palestinian college students in Israel: its prevalence and relationship to selected demographic variables. The Journal of Concurrent Disorders. Manuscript in Press.

  • Agbaria, Q., & Daher, W. (2015). School violence among Arab adolescents in Israel and its relation to self-control skills and social support. Psychological Reports, 117(1), 1–7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q., Ronen, T., & Hamama, L. (2012). The link between developmental components (Age and Gender), need to belong and resources of self-control and feelings of happiness, and frequency of symptoms among Arab adolescents in Israel. Children and Youth Services review, 34(10), 2018–2027.

  • Agbaria, Q., & Natur, N. (2018). The relationship between violence in the family and adolescents aggression: The mediator role of self-control, social support, religiosity, and well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 91(C), 447–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.06.016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q., Ronen, T., & Hamama, L. (2014). Self-control and social belonging as weakening the association between low mental welfare and violence. Megamot, 3, 513–537 [In Hebrew].

    Google Scholar 

  • Agbaria, Q., Mahamid, F., & Ziya Berte, D. (2017). Social support, self-control, religiousness and engagement in high risk-behaviors among adolescents. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 4, 13–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Gamal, E., Alzayyat, A., & Ahmad, M. M. (2016). Prevalence of internet addiction and its association with psychological distress and coping strategies among university students in Jordan. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 52(1), 49–61.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bener, A., & Bhugra, D. (2013). Lifestyle and depressive risk factors associated with problematic internet use in adolescents in an Arabian gulf culture. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 7(4), 236–242.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss, loss, sadness, and depression. New York: International Psychoanalytical Library, Vol 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brand, M., Young, K. S., & Laier, C. (2014). Prefrontal control and internet addiction: A theoretical model and review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 1–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caplan, S. E. (2003). Preference for online social interaction: A theory of problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being. Communication Research, 30(6), 625–648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardak, M. (2013). Psychological well-being and internet addiction among university students. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 12(3), 134–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y. R., & Hu, J. J. (2012). Relationship between teenagers' internet addiction disorder, parent rearing styles and social support. China Journal of Health Psychology, 20(5), 767e768.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38(5), 300–314. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-197609000-00003.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 57–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (2009). New measures of well-being: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 39247–39266. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_12.

  • Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1996). Most people are happy. Psychological Science, 7(3), 4–181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00354.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubow, E. F., Tisak, J., Causey, D., Hryshko, A., & Reid, G. (1991). A two-year longitudinal study of stressful life events, social support, and social problem-solving skills: Contributions to children's behavioral and academic adjustment. Child Development, 62(3), 583–589. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01554.x.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Durkee, T., Kaess, M., Carli, V., Parzer, P., Wasserman, C., Floderus, B., et al. (2012). Prevalence of pathological internet use among adolescents in Europe: Demographic and social factors. Addiction, 107(12), 2210–2222.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flisher, C. (2010). Getting plugged in: An overview of internet addiction. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 46(10), 557–559.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gür, K., Yurt, S., Bulduk, S., & Atagöz, S. (2015). Internet addiction and physical and psychosocial behavior problems among rural secondary school students. Nursing & Health Sciences, 17(3), 331–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ha, J. H., Kim, S. Y., Bae, S. C., Bae, S., Kim, H., Sim, M., et al. (2007). Depression and internet addiction in adolescents. Psychopathology, 40(6), 424–430.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamade, S. N. (2009). Internet addiction among university students in Kuwait. Domes (Digest of Middle East Studies), 18(2), 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh, K. Y., Hsiao, R., Yang, Y. H., Liu, T. L., & Yen, C. F. (2018). Predictive effects of sex, age, depression, and problematic behaviors on the incidence and remission of internet addiction in college students: A prospective study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2861.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Imaginário, S., Vieira, L. S., & Jesus, S. (2013). Subjective well-being and social integration of college students. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, 1(3), 215–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kardefelt-Winther, D. (2014). A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction research: Towards a model of compensatory internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 31, 351–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. (2006). Mental health in adolescence: Is America's youth flourishing? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(3), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.76.3.395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khazaal, Y., Chatton, A., Atwi, K., Zullino, D., Khan, R., & Billieux, J. (2011). Arabic validation of the compulsive internet use scale (CIUS). Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 6(1), 32.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H. K., & Davis, K. E. (2009). Toward a comprehensive theory of problematic internet use: Evaluating the role of self-esteem, anxiety, flow, and the self-rated importance of internet activities. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 490–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koç, P. (2017). Internet addiction and subjective well-being in university students. Journal of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, 1(1), 34–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laurent, J., Cantanzaro, J. S., Thomas, J. E., Rudolph, D. K., & Potter, K. I. (1999). A measure of positive and negative affect for children: Scale development and preliminary validation. Psychological Assessment, 11, 141–169. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.11.3.326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. Y., Shin, K. M., Cho, S. M., & Shin, Y. M. (2014). Psychosocial risk factors associated with internet addiction in Korea. Psychiatry Investigation, 11(4), 380.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mei, S., Yau, Y. H., Chai, J., Guo, J., & Potenza, M. N. (2016). Problematic internet use, well-being, self-esteem and self-control: Data from a high-school survey in China. Addictive Behaviors, 61, 74–79.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, M. A., Jelenchick, L., Cox, E., Young, H., & Christakis, D. A. (2011). Problematic internet use among US youth: A systematic review. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 165(9), 797–805.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, B. D., & Wiemer-Hastings, P. (2005). Addiction to the internet and online gaming. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 8(2), 110–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nie, P., Sousa-Poza, A., & Nimrod, G. (2017). Internet use and subjective well-being in China. Social Indicators Research, 132(1), 489–516.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odacı, H., & Çıkrıkçı, Ö. (2014). Problematic internet use in terms of gender, attachment styles and subjective well-being in university students. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, 61–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostovar, S., Allahyar, N., Aminpoor, H., Moafian, F., Nor, M. B. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2016). Internet addiction and its psychosocial risks (depression, anxiety, stress and loneliness) among Iranian adolescents and young adults: A structural equation model in a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 14(3), 257–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pontes, H. M., Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2015). Clinical psychology of internet addiction: A review of its conceptualization, prevalence, neuronal processes, and implications for treatment. Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics, 4, 11–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinones, C., & Kakabadse, N. K. (2015). Self-concept clarity, social support, and compulsive internet use: A study of the US and the UAE. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 347–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahin, S., Ozdemir, K., & Unsal, A. (2013). Evaluation of the relationship between internet addiction and depression in university students. Medicinski Glasnik Specijalne Bolnice Za Bolesti štitaste žlezde i Bolesti Metabolizma" Zlatibor", 18(49), 14–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scorsolini-Comin, F., & dos Santos, M. A. (2012). Correlations between subjective well-being, dyadic adjustment and marital satisfaction in Brazilian married people. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15(1), 166–176.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seif, G. M., Hoseini, H. M., & Sharifi, A. R. (2014). The relationship between internet addiction and social support and hopefulness (case study: Qom Azad University students in educational year of 91-92). World Scientific News, 3, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, A., & Sharma, R. (2018). Internet addiction and psychological well-being among college students: A cross-sectional study from Central India. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 7(1), 147.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stepanikova, I., Nie, N. H., & He, X. (2010). Time on the internet at home, loneliness, and life satisfaction: Evidence from panel time-diary data. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(3), 329–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suresh, V. C., Silvia, W. D., Kshamaa, H. G., & Nayak, S. B. (2018). Internet addictive behaviors and subjective well-being among 1st-year medical students. Archives of Mental Health, 19(1), 24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (1985). Social support and psychological well-being: Theoretical possibilities. In G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 51–72). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripathi, A. (2017). Impact of internet addiction on mental health: An integrative therapy is needed. Integrative Medicine International, 4(3–4), 215–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, H. F., Cheng, S. H., Yeh, T. L., Shih, C. C., Chen, K. C., Yang, Y. C., & Yang, Y. K. (2009). The risk factors of internet addiction—A survey of university freshmen. Psychiatry Research, 167(3), 294–299.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tyagi, V., & Pandey, N. (2015). Inter-relation between well-being and adjustment among adolescents. Indian Journal of Psychological Science, 5(2), 55–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyay, P., Jain, R., & Tripathi, V. N. (2017). A study on the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with psychopathology in Indian adolescents. Indian Journal of Neuroscience, 3, 56–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wegmann, E., Stodt, B., & Brand, M. (2015). Addictive use of social networking sites can be explained by the interaction of internet use expectancies, internet literacy, and psychopathological symptoms. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(3), 155–162.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, C. H. (2004). The role of social support on internet addiction. Journal of Cyber Culture and Information Society, 7, 173–189.

  • Wu, X. S., Zhang, Z. H., Zhao, F., Wang, W. J., Li, Y. F., Bi, L., et al. (2016). Prevalence of internet addiction and its association with social support and other related factors among adolescents in China. Journal of Adolescence, 52, 103–111.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young, K. (2016). Internet addiction test (IAT). Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting Co.

  • Zhang, R. (2015). Internet dependence in Chinese high school students: Relationship with sex, self-esteem, and social support. Psychological Reports, 117(1), 8–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Y., Lin, F. C., Du, Y. S., Zhao, Z. M., Xu, J. R., & Lei, H. (2011). Gray matter abnormalities in internet addiction: A voxel-based morphometry study. European Journal of Radiology, 79(1), 92–95.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qutaiba Agbaria.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Agbaria, Q., Bdier, D. The Role of Social Support and Subjective Well-Being as Predictors of Internet Addiction among Israeli-Palestinian College Students in Israel. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 1889–1902 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00282-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00282-4

Keywords

Navigation