This study selected the factors related to the Internet Addiction of the adolescents in the context of entire environment, including the adolescents based on the ecological perspectives. This thesis constructed the study model by classifying exogenous...
This study selected the factors related to the Internet Addiction of the adolescents in the context of entire environment, including the adolescents based on the ecological perspectives. This thesis constructed the study model by classifying exogenous variables into the family environmental factor(parents‘ attitudes towards use of internet, support of family), school environmental factor(support of friends, support of teacher, achievement), Internet environme-
ntal factor(Internet usage time, Dysfunctional Internet Use), and community environmental factor(community environment), and appointing the individual factors(self-control) and Internet addiction as endogenous variables and investigated the direct effect and indirect effect of Eco-system factors on the Internet addiction. In addition, it grasped the Internet using condition and characteristics, and the condition of the adolescents' Internet addiction.
The data collection of this study was conducted with the self administration method towards the 5th grade and the 6th grade of elementary school, and the 1st, 2nd, and the 3rd grade of middle school, located in the Asi, Gyeonggido. A total of 891 questionnaire papers were collected, and 846 questionnaire papers, except for 45 questionnaire papers of which the response is incomplete, were used for the analysis.
SPSS 12.0 was used for the dealing and result analysis of collected data, and frequency, and percentage were calculated and crosstabulation analysis was conducted in order to grasp the level of Internet addiction according to the Internet using condition, Internet addiction condition, the characteristics of sociology of population, gender, and grade.
In addition, Cronbach's h‘s alpha coefficient was calculated and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out in order to verify the reliability and validity of scale. Fit indices of study model were verified by using Amos 5.0, and study hypothesis was verified through structural equation model analysis.
This study set total 25hypotheses and as a result of verifying them based on the analysis result of structural equation model, a total of 12 hypotheses had the statistically significant effect. Therefore, these hypotheseswere adopted and the remaining hypotheses were dismissed. This thesis attempted to summarize and suggest the casual relation of variables around the verification result of the Internet using condition, addiction condition, and study hypothesis as followings.
First, it appeared that 96.2%(814) of the adolescent families among responde-
nts were equipped with the basis of Internet usage and the adolescents of 91.8%(777) used the Internet.
Second, the addiction(score 60-100) by the classification of three groups appeared to be 10.9%(92), and the addiction rate of female students appeared to be higher than that of male students.
Third, as a result of investigating the effect of Eco-system factors on the Internet addiction, it appeared that dysfunctional Internet use, self-control had the statistically significant effect on the Internet addiction. It appeared that parents' attitude to the Internet, the support of family, the support of teacher, achievement, Internet usage time, and community environment didn't have significant effect on the Internet addiction at firsthand.
Fourth, as a result of investigating the exogenous variable on self-control, parents' attitude to the Internet, the support of friends, the support of teacher, achievement, and community environment had the statistically significant effect, and the support of family, Internet usage time, and dysfunctional Internet usage didn't have the statistically significant effect on the self-control.
Fifth, direct effect, indirect effect, and total effect of exogenous variable on the Internet addiction were investigated. As a result of analysis, it appeared that exogenous variable, of which the direct effect was statistically significant, was the dysfunctional Internet use. Variables, of which the indirect effect was statistically significant, were the parents' attitudes towards the Internet, the support of friends, the support of teachers, Achievement, and community environment. It appeared that the exogenous variable whose indirect effect was the biggest was the parents' attitudes towards the Internet. Variables, of which the total effect was statistically significant, were the parents' attitudes towards the Internet, the support of friends, Internet usage time, Dysfunctional Internet Use and community environment. It appeared that the exogenous variable whose indirect effect was the biggest was the parents' attitudes towards the Internet. It appeared that the parents' attitude to the Internet was the biggest in the total effect, which was the sequence of dysfunctional Internet use, and the support of friends.
As a result of study, it appeared that dysfunctional Internet use and self-control had the immediate effect on the Internet addiction, and it appeared that parents' attitude towards the Internet, the support of friends, the support of teacher, achievement, community environment didn't have the immediate significant effect on the Internet addiction, but had effect on the self-control, indirectly affecting the Internet addiction. The direct effect and indirect effect of Internet usage time appeared to be significant but total effect appeared to be significant. All direct effect, indirect effect, and total effect of support of family appeared to be statistically insignificant.
As you can see in the analysis result, since various factors of Eco-system appeared to have the effect on the Internet addiction, the integrated intervention should be made by establishing the organic network of all systems instead of the single linear role of one system in order to prevent the Internet addiction of the adolescents. In addition, the immediate effect of self-control among Eco-system factors on the Internet addiction appeared to be the biggest. Therefore, it appeared that the enforcement of self control increase program towards the adolescents' was required and the parents' attitudes towards the Internet had the biggest indirect effect and total effect on the Internet addiction. Therefore, if various education programs for parents are developed and extended, supporting family system, it would contribute to the formation of healthy Internet usage habit of the adolescents and the prevention of Internet addiction.