The tendency to cyberspace addiction in students: The predictive role of ambivalence over emotional expression and social self-efficacy

Problems caused by the overuse of cell phones have led to negative consequences in students' everyday life; therefore, the present study was performed to investigate the predictive role of ambivalence over emotional expression and social self-efficacy in relation to cyber addiction tendency in students. The method was descriptive-correlational and the sample consisted of 250 high school students who were studying in Mashhad during the academic year 2020-2021, participated in this research by convenience sampling, through social media by distributing the link of online questionnaire, responded to Sevari Mobile Phone Addiction Scale (MPAS) (2014), Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (1990) and Connolly Adolescent Social Self-Efficacy Scale (SSES) (1989). The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that addiction to cyberspace has a negative relationship with social self-efficacy and a positive relationship with ambivalence over emotional expression. Therefore, psychologists should take necessary actions to reduce the severity of attachment to cyberspace in this vulnerable group of society by teaching them appropriate policies to reduce emotional, cognitive, and social problems in students.