Investigation of the predictive role of attachment styles and social connectedness in university students' problematic internet use

This thesis is a descriptive study aimed to investigate the problematic internet usage levels of university students according to their attachment styles, social connectedness and various variables. The research has two main objectives. The first is to examine the role of attachment styles and social connectedness levels in university students predicting problematic internet use. The second is to examine the problematic internet usage of university students according to various variables. The study group consisted of 1012 students attending Anadolu University's formal programs in the spring term of 2017-2018 academic year. The Problematic Internet Use Scale, Relationship Scales Questionnaire, Social Connectedness Scale and Personal Information Form were used to collect the data of the study. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, one way variance analysis, correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. According to the results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis conducted within the scope of the study, it was concluded that preoccupied attachment, fearful attachment, and secure attachment, which are sub-dimensions of the social commitment variable and attachment styles variable, were not significant predictors of problematic internet use levels of university students, and dismissing attachment variable was not a significant predictor.