Boşanmış ve evli bireylerin depresyon, internet bağımlılığı düzeylerinin incelenmesi

Abstract

Günümüzde internet bağımlılığı gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. Artan bu internet bağımlılığı bireylerin ruh sağlığını olumsuz şekilde etkileyebilmektedir. İnternet bağımlılığı sadece ergenlerde değil aynı zamanda yetişkinlerde de problem olarak kendini göstermektedir. Birçok yetişkin streslerini atmak veya boş zamanlarını geçirmek için internette zaman geçirmektedir. Zaman içerisinde mevcut olan durum kontrolsüz kullanımı sonucu internet bağımlığı ile neticelenmektedir. Literatür incelendiğinde internet bağımlılığı ile depresyon arasında anlamlı ilişkilerin olduğu görülmektedir. Bireylerin aşırı internet kullanımı sonucu oluşan bağımlılılık bireyleri depresyona kadar sürükleye bilmektedir. Depresyon ve internet bağımlılığı arasındaki ilişkiyi inceleyen çeşitli araştırmalar olmakla birlikte doğrudan depresyonun ve internet bağımlılığının boşanmış ve evli bireylerdeki seviyelerini inceleyen bir araştırmaya rastlanmamıştır. Bu sebeble bu çalışma ‘’Boşanmış ve Evli Bireylerin Depresyon ve İnternet Bağımlılığı’’ arasındaki düzeyi incelemeyi hedeflemiştir. Araştırma, İstanbul ili Avcılar, Beylikdüzü ve Esenyurt bölgesinde yaşayan 189 evli ve 164 boşanmış olmak üzere toplam 353 (%52.4 kadın, %47.6 erkek) katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Örneklemden elde edilen veriler, SPSS.20 paket programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde yüzde, aritmetik ortalama, standart sapma, bağımsız gruplar t-testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi (ANOVA) ve Tukey çoklu karşılaştırma testi kullanılmıştır. Boşanmış ve evli bireylerin internet bağımlılığı puan ortalamaları incelendiğinde, internet bağımlılığı puan ortalamalarına göre boşanmış bireylerin puan ortalamalarının evli bireylerden istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır. Bu sonuçlar değerlendirildiğinde boşanmış bireylerin internet bağımlılığı ve depresyon düzeylerinin evli olanlara göre daha yüksek olduğunu sonucu elde edilmiştir.

Nowadays, internet addiction is increasing day by day. Internet addiction can negatively affect the mental health of individuals. Internet addiction is not only a problem for adolescents but also it manifests itself as a central problem in adults. Many adults spend time on the internet to relieve their stress or spend their free time. Uncontrolled use of the relevant situation over time results in internet addiction. In the literature review it is seen that there is a significant relationship between internet addiction and depression. Excessive internet use may cause to depression. Although there are several studies examining the relationships between depression and internet addiction, there is no research that directly examines the levels of depression and internet addiction in divorced and married individuals. This study aims at revealing the relation on “Depression and Internet Addiction of Divorced and Married Individuals”. The research has been conducted with a total of 353 participants (52.4% female, 47.6% male), 189 married and 164 divorced ones in Avcılar, Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt region of Istanbul province.Percentages, arithmetic means, standard deviations, independent groups t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey multiple comparison test were used in the analysis of the data. When the internet addiction scores of divorced and married individuals were examined, it was revealed that the mean scores of divorced individuals were statistically higher than married individuals compared to the average scores of internet addiction. Thus, considering this result, it has been concluded that divorced individuals have higher levels of internet addiction and depression than the married ones.

STRUCTURED ABSTRACT: Introduction and Study Objective Internet addiction is defined as technology addiction. Technology addiction is described as a behavioral addiction including humanmachine interaction in which no chemical substance is taken into the human body (Griffiths, 2000). Psychosocial disorders such as depression, loneliness and social anxiety cause pathological internet addiction. It is reported that primarily individuals with face-to-face communication problems prefer online social interaction (Caplan,2003). Many adults use the internet to relieve stress or spend their free time. Over time, this may lead to internet addiction as a result of uncontrolled use of the internet. Young and Rogers (1998) report that, following a divorce, depression level may increase in association with the level of internet addiction. Post-divorce can be a challenging period for individuals in terms of their adaptation. It is thought that this challenging period may also increase the depression levels and internet addiction levels of individuals. Therefore, the main objective of this study was determined as comparing the depression levels and internet addiction levels of divorced and married people. Research Model: The present study is a research study with correlational survey model designed to investigate the presence of any significant differences between depression and internet addiction levels of divorced and married individuals. Correlational survey model is a research model aiming to determine the presence or degree of any differences between two or more variables (Heppner, Wampold and Kivlighan,2013).This study was conducted with a total of 353 individuals (52.4% women, 47.6% men, X =35.78 age,SD=5.05), 189 of whom were married and 164 of whom were divorced, recruited via convenience sampling method and living in Avcılar, Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt districts of Istanbul. In the study, a personal information form consisting of the demographic characteristics, a short version of Young’s Internet Addiction Test and Beck Depression Inventory were used. Data obtained from 353 individuals (164 divorced and 189 married) was analyzed using the SPSS.20 package program. Percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, independent samples t-test, one-way variance analysis ANOVA) and Tukey’s multiple comparison test were used for data analysis. Findings: An analysis of mean depression scores of married and divorced individuals demonstrated that married individuals had a mean depression score of 18.79 while divorced individuals had a mean depression score of 34.04. As a result of an analysis,it was detected that divorced individuals had statistically significantly higher meandepression scores than married individuals (p<.01). An analysis of mean internet addiction scores of married and divorced individuals showed that married individuals had a mean internet addiction score of 22.26 while divorced individuals had a mean internet addiction score of 35.92. As a result of an analysis, it was detected that divorced individuals had statistically significantly higher mean internet addiction scores than married individuals (p<.01). Discussion and Results: As a result of our study, it was found that the depression levels of divorced individuals were higher than those of married individuals. Similarly, in a study conducted by Lorenz, Simons, Conger, Elder, Johnson and Chao (1997) with divorced women, it was reported that depression signs and symptoms were more common especially in divorced individuals and such individuals had higher tendency to exhibit antisocial behaviors. Likewise, Akhtar-Danesh and Landeen (2007) state that the prevalence of depression was the highest in divorced and separated individuals whereas it was observed less in married individuals. Moreover, it was detected that divorced individuals had higher levels of internet addiction compared to married individuals. Young and Rogers (1998) reported a significant correlation between internet addiction and depression in their study. Internet addiction is a process that is started especially by individuals who experience downs in their lives or are lonely in order to forget about the problems or loneliness,and then turns into an addiction. The findings of our study support this view. Caplan (2003) argues that the preference for online social communication by individuals is associated with psychosocial problems and loneliness. It is concluded from our study results that individuals may become lonely following a divorce and resort to virtual means of communication such as the internet to cope with it. However, it is thought that excessive amount of time spent on the internet may trigger addiction which may in turn be one of the reasons of depression experienced by the divorced individuals. Caplan states that psychosocial disorders such as depression, loneliness, social anxiety cause internet addiction. It is observed that individuals isolating themselves from social life, particularly those who have problems in face-to-face communication prefer online social interaction. Feeling of loneliness and isolation experienced by divorced individuals are among the problems with which many people cannot cope. Thus, it is highly important that they receive professional help instead of resorting to the internet in order to forget their loneliness or problems. The present study investigates in divorced and married individualsthe impact levels of divorce which is an important psychosocial problem and of internet addiction which is thought to increase in association thereof. Therefore, the period following a divorce is as important as the post-divorce period for an individual’s adaptation. It is thus suggested that new studies focus on the consequences that may be observed following a divorce. Also, this study analyses internet addiction and depression levels in divorced and married individuals within the general community without making a gender distinction. Future studies may investigate whether there is any significant difference between depression levels according to genders. In addition, this study included the divorce and married individuals living in a specific region of Istanbul in the sample. It is thought that studies conducted on a broader sample with various socioeconomic levels may contribute to the studies in the field.