The relationship between problematic Internet use, God attachment, and psychological functioning among adults at a Christian university.

In the present study, we utilised structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationship between God attachment and problematic Internet use, mediated by emotional distress. Findings supported the proposed hypothesis that anxious God attachment (i.e., anxiety about God's abandonment) pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental Health, Religion & Culture Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 239 - 252
Main Authors: Knabb, Joshua J., Pelletier, Joseph
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2014
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:In the present study, we utilised structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationship between God attachment and problematic Internet use, mediated by emotional distress. Findings supported the proposed hypothesis that anxious God attachment (i.e., anxiety about God's abandonment) predicts both problematic Internet use (i.e., obsessing about the Internet, neglecting tasks and relationships due to the Internet, struggling to control Internet use) and psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, worry). In addition, weak-to-moderate correlations emerged between depression, anxiety, stress, and worry and problematic Internet use. Further research is needed to generalise and replicate these preliminary results.