The role of life satisfaction in the relationship between high school students' basic psychological needs and problematic internet use

This study aims to examine the mediating role of life satisfaction in the relationship between the basic psychological needs of high school students and problematic internet usage within the information obtained from scales and related literature. For this purpose, the model established for the role of life satisfaction in the relationship between basic psychological needs and problematic internet usage was tested in the framework of Self-Determination Theory. This study is descriptive research study based on relational crosshatching model. The population of the study consists of 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th-grade students studying in the Anatolian high schools affiliated to the Directorate of National Education in the central districts of Bornova, Konak and Karabaglar in İzmir province during 2018-2019 academic years. Within the scope of the research, appropriate / easily accessible sampling method was selected among non-random sampling methods. The sample group of the study consisted of 1318 high school students, which are 796 female, and 522 male students. In this study, the data were obtained by using Problematic Internet Use Scale-Adolescent Form, Psychological Needs Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale and Personal Information Form prepared by the researcher. Also, the validity and reliability study of the Psychological Needs Scale was conducted by the researcher on high school students. In the analysis of the data, conditional process analysis was performed. As a result, first, Psychological Needs Scale was found to be a valid and reliable instrument for high school students. In addition, it was found that basic psychological needs predict problematic internet use negatively and life satisfaction positively, while life satisfaction predicts problematic internet use negatively. Within the scope of Self-Determination Theory, it was found that life satisfaction had a partial mediating role in the relationship between basic psychological needs and problematic internet use among high school students. In summary, the research results confirmed the established model. The findings were discussed and interpreted considering the literature. Some suggestions were presented for parents, school counselors and researchers. Keywords: Internet, Problematic Internet Use, Psychological Needs, Life Satisfaction.