The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies in Relation with Psychological Needs and Internet Addiction among College Students

Internet addiction has several negative consequences, including physical, psychological, social and educational problems. The current research intended to assess the mediating role of coping strategies in relation with psychological needs and internet addiction. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed 375 students (129 male, 244 female) from Karaj Islamic Azad University in 2018 which were selected by stratified sampling. Data were collected by self-report method. Research instruments were internet addiction test, satisfaction of psychological needs questionnaire and coping response scale. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.19 and using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and Concurrent hierarchical Regression analysis. Results: Pearson correlation coefficients showed negative correlations between autonomy, relatedness, competence and internet addiction (p<0.01). There is negative correlation between autonomy, relatedness, competence and maladaptive coping strategy (p<0.01) and positive correlation between maladaptive coping and internet addiction (p<0.01). Also, Hierarchical regression analysis by Baron and Kenny method showed that maladaptive coping is mediator between and satisfaction of psychological needs and internet addiction. Conclusion: This results indicate that high level of satisfaction of psychological needs are associated with low level of internet addiction and unsatisfied of psychological needs has positive impact in maladaptive coping strategy, subsequently maladaptive coping increases internet addiction.