THE CORRELATION BETWEEN TEMPERAMENT AND INTERNET ADDICTION IN RUSSIAN ADOLESCENTS

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1 УДК Victoria N. Egorova Student at the Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Communicative Studies Kuban State University Russia, Krasnodar Daria S. Nazarova Student at the Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Communicative Studies Kuban State University Russia, Krasnodar Tatiana V. Volkodav Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology and the Department of English Philology Kuban State University Russia, Krasnodar THE CORRELATION BETWEEN TEMPERAMENT AND INTERNET ADDICTION IN RUSSIAN ADOLESCENTS Abstract: the article is devoted to the problem of psychological influence of temperament on the development of Internet addiction, based on the study, attended by 61 students of Kuban State University (M=21, F=40) aged from 16 to 20 years old. It is assumed that temperament can either contribute or hinder the development of Internet addiction. Keywords: Internet addiction, temperament, students, dependence, male, female. Introduction Rapid development of information technologies hastened the emergence of the Internet, which has absorbed human society since 1990 [3, С ]. In today's society the Internet has become a fundamental part of our life.

2 The growth of time spent in the virtual world is determined by a few positive characteristics of the Internet, e.g., accessibility, anonymity, a convenient way of transferring information, security, etc. These characteristics are appealing to young people, but the Internet can have a row of negative consequences as well [2]. Kymberly Young, a professor of University of Pittsburgh for the first time ever supposed that the increase in time spent on the Internet and the loss of time control can serve as a key indicator of addiction. Such a behavior can provoke a row of such consequences as poor academic performance at the university or school, family stress, depression, low self-esteem, health problems, etc. [6, С ]. In 2006 in Pakistan the researchers identified the consequences of Internet overuse by students. The sample group consisted of 200 students of the University of Lahore (Pakistan). The survey showed that the Internet overuse can lead to a wide range of educational, physical, psychological and interpersonal problems. Nevertheless, a larger number of students reported positive rather than negative consequences of the Internet use. Not denying the advantages of the Internet, the findings showed that the Internet use should have reasonable limits. The factors which promote the development of Internet addiction play a critical role. Investigating virtual addiction factors, Pace U, Zappulla C, Guzzo G, Maggio R, Laudani found out that personal and family factors affect addiction formation [5]. Personal factors include temper, lifestyle, age and individuality. Some psychologists believe there is an association between different kinds of addiction and personal qualities, particularly temperament and personality traits [1, С ]. There are numerous approaches to conceptualizing temperament, which can be defined as biologically rooted individual differences in behavior

3 tendencies that are present early in life and are relatively stable across various kinds of situations and over the course of time [4, С ]. The correlation between temperament and Internet addiction was studied in Syria by Mohammad Q Abdullah, who described an interconnection between children's and teenager's temperament and Internet addiction. The study involved 351 teenagers (167 boys, 184 girls) at the age from 15 to 19 years old. The survey results showed that boys are more addicted than girls, as well as teenagers are more addicted than children. Moreover, the Internet use positively correlates with intensity, mood, distractibility and physical sensibility, and negatively correlates with activity and regularity [2]. In spite of a great number if surveys in the field of temperament and Internet addiction, the issue of their interconnection remains obscure. Few surveys carried out an analysis of interrelation between Internet addiction and temperament. Materials and Methods The goal of the survey is to study the four basic types of temperament among students and to establish the correlation between temperament and Internet addiction. For the convenience of data collection, we modified the Eysenck's questionnaire (temperament type definition), which consists of 10 questions on extroversion-introversion (3, 15, 18, 22, 30, 42, 58, 70, 84, 92) and 10 questions on neuroticism (7, 12, 20, 28, 44, 52, 60, 64, 89, 94). The questionnaire was used to identify Internet addiction, which consists of 11 statements with the scales "never, "seldom", "often" and "very often" (Table 1). To test the hypothesis that temperament can either contribute or hinder the development of Internet addiction, we interviewed 61 students of Kuban State University (M=21, F=40) aged from 16 to 20 years old. Table 1. Questionnaire "The correlation between the type of temperament and Internet addiction"

4 The modified questionnaire Internet addiction (Loskutova V., 2004) Never Seldom Often Very Often 1. How often do you feel liveliness, pleasure, satisfaction or 15,7 55,1 29,2 0 relief when you are online? 2. How often do you plan to spend time surfing the Internet? 33,7 51,7 13,5 1,1 3. How often do you need to spend more time surfing the 42,7 49,4 7,9 0 Internet, or spend more and more money to experience the same feelings? 4. How often can you easily stop surfing the Internet? 0 6,7 36,0 57,3 5. How often do you feel nervous, depressed, irritable, or 48,3 42,7 6,7 2,2 empty when you are offline? 6. How often do you feel the need to be online to improve 39,3 46,1 10,1 4,5 your mood or avoid life's problems? 7. How often do you neglect your family, social 43,8 38,2 14,6 3,4 responsibilities and studies due to frequent online work? 8. How often do you have to lie to your parents or teachers 70,8 21,3 5,6 2,2 about how much time you spend surfing the Internet? 9. How often is there a threat of losing friends and / or family 67,4 23,6 7,9 1,1 due to the Internet overuse? 10. How often do you notice such physical symptoms as back 42,7 39,3 13,5 4,5 pain, dry eyes, headaches when working online? 11. How often do you experience sleep disorders or changes in 30,3 42,7 23,6 3,4 your sleep mode due to the Internet overuse? The modified questionnaire Temperament (EPQ) Yes No (Mironova E., 2005) 12. Do you often experience emotional ups and downs? 60,7 39,3 13. Have you ever felt unhappy for no reason? 52,8 47,2 14. Do you often worry about what you have done or said that 77,5 22,5 you shouldn t have? 15. Are you able to give free rein to the feelings and to have a 84,3 15,7 good time in a noisy company? 16. Do you like meeting new people? 80,9 19,1 17. Is it easy to offend you? 44,9 55,1 18. Are you trying to be unnoticed in society? 15,7 84,3 19. Are you often worried about feeling guilty? 43,8 56,2 20. Do you usually prefer books, smartphones, or computers, to 19,1 80,9 real meetings with people? 21. Do you usually take up the initiative when meeting people? 42,7 57,3 22. Do you usually feel extremely nervous? 41,6 58,4 23. Are you worried about your health? 77,5 22,5 24. Do you like to communicate with people? 92,1 7,9 25. Do you suffer from insomnia? 10,1 89,9 26. Do you usually feel apathetic or tired without any reason? 40,4 59,6 27. Do you often take on more work than time allows? 44,9 55,1 28. Do you feel uncomfortable being among the people who 60,7 39,3 poke fun at friends? 29. Are you easily offended by comments concerning you 40,4 59,6 personally, your work, or study? 30. Do you like hustle and bustle around you? 61,8 38,2 31. Is it true that you are sometimes full of energy and sometimes completely exhausted? 88,8 11,2

5 Using the survey data on the scales of extroversion-introversion and neuroticism, we assessed the indicators of the respondents temperament. The results were shown using a circle developed by Eysenck (Figure 1). Figure 1. Eysenck s circle Results and Discussion 28% of the respondents were diagnosed with the melancholic type of temperament; the equal number of the students surveyed proved to be the respondents with the choleric and sanguine type of temperament (23%); 26% of the students turned out to be with phlegmatic temperament (Figure 2) % 23% 28% 23% phlegmatic choleric melancholic sanguine Figure 2. The temperament types identified

6 The research showed that respondents with melancholic type of temperament have a bigger disposition toward Internet addiction. The reason for this is that the Internet serves as a coping strategy that saves them from despondence and loneliness. The respondents with sanguine type of temperament have a low propensity for Internet addiction, since they are mentally resilient, independent in their wishes and decisions. As sanguine people are extroverts by nature, they have a lot of friends, real life communication and support beyond the Internet and electronic gadgets. The results of the survey showed that unlike melancholic female respondents, choleric females have a predominant disposition toward Internet addiction. They are characterized by a frequent change of moods, temper and occupation; therefore, the neuroticism of choleric female respondents is expressed in extreme nervousness, depressive state and the ability to find the way out of these states. Among men, the melancholic male respondents are more prone to Internet addiction. The study found that 8% of the respondents reported that they risk losing friends or family due to excessive use of the Internet, and about 10% feel nervous and annoyed when they are off the Internet. However, most respondents (58%) prefer to communicate in real life with family and friends. Conclusion Thus, the study confirmed that temperament affects the formation of Internet addiction. Adolescents with pronounced activity, good academic performance and positive emotions do not suffer from Internet addiction, and vice versa, young people who are constantly depressed, sad or lonely, will be more dependent on the Internet.

7 References 1. Lee M., Jung L. Comparisons of temperament and character between problematic internet users and problematic drug users in Korean adolescents С Mohammad A., The Relationship between Internet Addiction and Temperament among Children and Adolescents // Psychology and Behavioral Science doi: /PBSIJ Moreno M., Jenchick L., Cox E., Young E., Christakis D. Problematic internet use among US youth: A systematic review // Archives Pediatrics and Adolescent medicine С Pace U., Zappulla C., Guzzo G., Maggio R., Laudani C. Internet assertion, temperament and the moderator role of family emotional involvement // International Journal of mental Health and addiction С Suhail K., Bargees Z. Effects of Excessive Internet Use on Undergraduate Students in Pakistan // Cyber Psychology and Behavior Young K. Internet addiction: Diagnosis and treatment consideration // Journal Contemporary Psychotherapy С Егорова В.Н., Назарова Д.С., Волкодав Т.В., 2018