Resumo

ARAUJO RODRIGUES, Daisy; CARVALHO RELVA, Inês  e  MONTEIRO FERNANDES, Otília. Family functioning and internet addiction in adolescents. CES Psicol [online]. 2022, vol.15, n.1, pp.44-67.  Epub 19-Maio-2022. ISSN 2011-3080.  https://doi.org/10.21615/cesp.5900.

This study aimed at exploring how family functioning variables are related to internet addiction. The final sample consisted of 568 participants, aged between 14 and 18, who attend Secondary Education, in a district in the North Region of Portugal. A Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Systemic Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15) were used. It was found that 73.1% of the participants had mild to moderate addiction, but there were no differences in internet addiction between male and female. On the other hand, differences in terms of family functioning have been verified, with male presenting slightly more difficulties in communicating in the family and more family difficulties. Differences were observed between the study groups (normal users, users with mild dependence and users with moderate dependence) in all dimensions of family functioning. In addition, it was possible to observe positive associations between the dimensions of family functioning and internet addiction. Finally, it was found that communication in the family was the only variable of family functioning that had a predictive role in internet addiction. Therefore, difficulties in family functioning, especially in communication among the members, seem to play a fundamental role in the development of internet addiction, and it is crucial to develop preventive actions, to promote healthy family functioning, as well as healthy internet use.

Palavras-chave : family functioning; internet addiction; internet use; adolescents.

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