Correlation between internet-addiction and the cognitive-stylistic features of students

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents the results of diagnostics of Internet-dependent behavior of students living in different climatic and geographical conditions of Russia, and reveals the correlation between the severity of Internet addiction and cognitive-style characteristics in the parameters "field-dependence / field-independence" and "impulsivity / reflexivity".Materials and Methods. The S. Chen scale was used to diagnose the severity of Internet addiction. The Gottschaldt test "included drawings" and the Kagan test "comparison of similar drawings" were used to diagnose cognitive and stylistic features. Methods of mathematical statistics: descriptive statistics, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, Chi-square criterion, Leven's criterion, student's criterion, Mann-Whitney U-criterion.Results. The overall level of Internet-dependent behavior among high school students from different regions does not significantly differ and indicates a predominance of students' propensity to develop Internet addiction. The correlation between the overall indicator of Internet-dependent behavior and the cognitive style of field-dependence / field-independence was not found. With respondents from the southern region, the severity of Internet addiction is accompanied by characteristics of an impulsive cognitive style, while with respondents from the Northern region of Russia, this pattern was not found.Discussion and Conclusions. It is suggested that individuals from the Northern and Southern regions have different responses to the conditionally pathogenic impact of the Internet in terms of the cognitive-style specificity of impulsivity / reflexivity.

Keywords

• internet-addiction
• symptoms of addiction
• cognitive style
• field-dependence
• field-independence
• impulsivity
• reflexivity