The role of attachment styles and experiential avoidance in internet addiction

The study aimed that examine the mediating role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between internet addiction and attachment styles in individuals in emerging adulthood. The relationship between variables was evaluated in the context of the social compensation hypothesis. The research sample consists of 287 female participants between the ages of 18-25. Sociodemographic Information Form, Chen Internet Addiction Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory-II and Acceptance and Commitment Form-II scales were used for data collection. In order to investigate the relationship between research variables, Pearson coreelation analysis was applied. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied for the purpose of investigating the relationship between hours of internet use and internet addiction, and Process Macro was used to conduct mediation analysis. As a result of correlational analyses, a significant relationship was found between hours of internet use and internet addiction. The findings showed that there was a significant relationship between internet addiction and experiential avoidance, internet addiction and anxious attachment, while there was no significant relationship between internet addiction and avoidant attachment. As a result of the mediation analysis, it was seen that experiential avoidance played a partial mediating role in the relationship between anxious attachment and Internet addiction, and experiential avoidance played a full mediating role in the relationship between avoidant attachment and Internet addiction. The findings were discussed with the information in the literature. Keywords: Internet addiction, Anxious attachment, Avoidant attachment, Experiential avoidance, Social compensation hypothesis