Abstract
Over the past 20 years, Internet addiction (IA) has become a campus health issue that cannot be ignored in the United Stated and other countries in the world (Anderson, 2001; Cardak, 2013; Carlisle et al, 2016; Kandell, 2009). It is estimated that 71% of 18-24 years old would qualify as being addicted to the Internet, and prevalence rates of IA are as high as 8.2% in the general population (Gaille, 2017; Weinstein & Lejoyeux, 2010). To date, IA on college campuses is a growing concern as more and more studies are revealing (Chai et al., 2012; Ostoyar et al., 2016). Research has indicated that college students with IA are likely to experience depression (Ineme et al., 2017; Ostovar et al., 2016), anxiety (Ostovar et al., 2016), loneliness (Zeliha, 2019), and poor physical health such as vision problem, weight gain or loss (Gregory, 2019). Of college students, international students as a racial and cultural minority group, appear to be more at-risk of IA because their acculturation experiences entail adjustment difficulties and stress related to the excessive Internet use (Chai et al., 2012; Hirai et al, 2015; Ye, 2005). Given the prevalence and complexities of IA, it is imperative to identify the factors implicated in the IA so that counselors could more effectively target intervention to reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of IA. In the current study, we therefore examined the relationships between acculturative stress, gender, age, and length of stay among international college students. The findings from this study are intended to expand the existing literature on IA of international college students and its correlates
This poster addresses the problem of internet addiction among international college students in a very clear and concise manner. It analyzes the relation between acculturative stress and internet addiction. The aims of the study are clearly stated, however, it would be useful to have more information about acculturative stress and how it was measured for this study. One of the assumptions behind this concept is related to the fact that students who are far from home experience symptoms of stress. Nevertheless, it is not very clear what is ‘cultural sensitivity’ expected form counselors and how it could help to reduce stress and propensity for addictions among international students.
I find internet addiction an interesting topic in general. What makes someone internet addicted versus someone who just uses the internet a lot? Additionally, it would be interesting to look into some of the stories behind these individuals to gain insight into factors that may have compounded their internet addictions. For example, close family members or partners that are long distance, use for work, etc. It would be interesting to know those individual stories to better understand the why. Great work!