title: Positive metacognitions about Internet use: The mediating role in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and problematic use.
abstract: The present study hypothesized that two specific positive metacognitions about Internet use (i.e. the belief that Internet use is useful in regulating negative emotions and the belief that it affords greater controllability) mediate the association between emotional dysregulation and problematic Internet use (PIU). A total of 293 undergraduate university students (male 48.4%; mean age=21.73+2.17) participated in the study. The assessed structural model produced adequate fit to the data (χ(2)=203.76; df=81; p<.001; RMSEA [90% CI]=.07 [.06-.08]; CFI=.95; SRMR=.08). Variables accounted for 46% of the variance in PIU levels. A partial mediation model in which emotional dysregulation predicted PIU levels through positive metacognitions associated with Internet use was found. The presence of a direct relationship between emotional dysregulation and PIU was also detected. Moreover, the study found that emotional dysregulation might drive symptoms of PIU to a greater extent than high negative emotionality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Psychology and Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, via di San Salvi 12, 50100 Florence, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.casale@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casale
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication, University of Delaware, 250 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Caplan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Psychology and Psychiatry Unit, University of Florence, via di San Salvi 12, 50100 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D000067489:Metacognition; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Control; Emotional dysregulation; Escapism; Internet addiction; Metacognitions; Problematic Internet use