The effect of psycho-educational program for regulating emotions and coping with stress in adolescents on problematic internet use

This research aims to investigate the effect of a cognitive-behavioral-based Emotion Regulation and Stress Management Psychoeducation Program on adolescents attending secondary education. In order to form the study group, a total of 286 students (154 females, 132 males) from the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades of secondary education in the 2021-2022 academic year were administered the Problematic Internet Use Scale (PIUS)- KIDCOPE, Regulation of Emotions Questionnaire (REQ) for Adolescents, and a Personal Information Form. Based on the scale results, individual interviews were conducted with adolescents who had high levels of problematic internet use and volunteered to participate in the psychoeducation program, and study groups were formed according to the criteria required for the research. Fifteen adolescents were assigned to the experimental group and fifteen to the control group. The experimental group received a 10-session Emotion Regulation and Stress Management Psychoeducation Program prepared by the researcher, once a week, while no intervention was made with the control group. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 statistical program. Since the data did not show a normal distribution, nonparametric comparisons such as Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon statistical analyses were used to analyze the data. According to the findings of the study, the Emotion Regulation and Stress Management Psychoeducation Program resulted in significant differences in all dimensions (negative consequences of internet use, excessive use, social benefits/social comfort) indicating a decrease in adolescents' problematic internet use. Additionally, when examining the findings obtained from the applied psychoeducation, significant differences were observed in all sub-dimensions of emotion regulation (internal functional emotion regulation, internal dysfunctional emotion regulation, external functional emotion regulation, external dysfunctional emotion regulation); however, contrary to the hypothesis of the research, a decrease was observed in the levels of internal functional emotion regulation in adolescents. Another result observed when examining the research findings was a significant decrease in the avoidance coping dimension of stress management after the psychoeducation program. Although the average levels of negative coping decreased and active coping increased, no significant difference was found. Four months after the completion of the psychoeducation program, no significant differences were found in the final test and follow-up measurements of all scales. According to the results of the research, the Emotion Regulation and Stress Management Psychoeducation Program is a significant psychoeducation program that has an impact on reducing adolescents' problematic internet use. Keywords: Problematic internet use, coping with stress, emotion regulation, psychoeducation