Psychology, Society & Education (Jun 2015)
Cyber-behavior and emotional dependency in young couples
Abstract
The use of the ICT and the cyber media is leading to new forms of socialization and communication among youth. Virtual environment has become a new context for relating to other people which also includes the establishment and development of couple relationships. At the same time, couple relationships in youth can be very satisfactory, although many studies also described the existence of different problems such as inadequate behaviors towards the partners or emotional dependency. Thus, the current work describes the use of different cyber media among youth and its relationship to the levels of emotional dependency. First, a questionnaire on the use of cyber media in oneself and perceived in a partner was answered by the participants. At the same time, the IRIDS-100 questionnaire for the assessment of the emotional dependency was responded. Both instruments were answered by 100 students between 19 and 32 years old, enrolled in the University of Córdoba. Results showed frequent use of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube in oneself and also perceived in the partner. Moreover, positive correlations were found between its use in oneself and perceived in the partner and emotional dependency. Taking into account that the cyber media have changed the way of relating among young people, with their peers and their couples, the results of the current study contribute to this topic suggesting at the same time new lines of studies related to the emotional dependency expressed through the cyber media.
