Title: Neuroticism and quality of life: the mediating role of internet addiction

Authors: Zahra Khayyer; Mohammd Ali Najinia; Reza Jafari Harandi

Addresses: Department of Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Law and Theology, Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani University, Isfahan, Iran ' Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran ' Educational Sciences Department, Literature and Human Sciences Faculty, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

Abstract: It seems that the number of internet users is constantly increasing. Especially young people show more interest in using social media. This may be related to certain personality traits and may affect different aspects of quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of internet addiction in the effect of neuroticism on quality of life. A sample of 500 students was selected in three stages. After screening the students based on Young's Internet Addiction, Neuroticism, and the Quality of Life scales, finally 275 participants were selected to be analysed. Our findings revealed a significant indirect effect of neuroticism on quality of life mediated by internet addiction (P < .001). In general, it can be concluded that neuroticism as a personality trait may cause a tendency in individuals toward avoidant coping strategies such as addictive behaviours. Educating the individuals on effective coping strategies can lead to an improvement in the quality of their life.

Keywords: neuroticism; internet addiction; quality of life; mediation analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBHR.2019.106989

International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 2019 Vol.7 No.1, pp.37 - 48

Received: 06 May 2019
Accepted: 01 Oct 2019
Published online: 29 Apr 2020 *

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