Internet addiction has emerged as a significant psychological concern among adolescents with implications for emotional, social, and behavioural functioning. Exploring internal relational patterns may help explain individuals’ vulnerability to excessive internet use. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of object relations in predicting internet addiction. For this, the sample included 180 adolescents (90 male and 90 female adolescents) chosen through convenience sampling method, ranging in the age 13 to 18 years old from different CBSE schools running in Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. All the participants filled the questionnaire on internet addiction test and bell relationship inventory for adolescents. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that object relations variables significantly predicted internet addiction, accounting for 28.9% of the variance (R2=.29, F (5, 174) =14.16, p<.001). Insecure attachment and egocentricity emerged as significant positive predictors of internet addiction, while positive attachment, alienation, and social incompetence were non-significant predictors. It can be concluded that insecure attachment and egocentricity can significantly predict internet addiction and therefore need to be taken care of and worked on in treatment plans and preventive measures.
Kumar et al. (Sun,) studied this question.