This study applied online disinhibition effect [1] to examine perceived psychological benefits (PPB) derived from computer-mediated communication (CMC). The models examined the relationship between psychological health (loneliness, self-esteem and social anxiety) and CMC for social interaction (to seek romantic/sexual relationships and emotional/social support), compulsive internet use (CIU) and PPB derived from CMC. Group comparisons across sex were also examined. The sample included 167 (47 men and 120 women) university students from Malaysia. Results suggest loneliness, low self-esteem and social anxiety in men can help explain CIU. For women, only social anxiety explains CIU. However, group comparison indicated that socially anxious men were less likely to be compulsive Internet users. Contrary to expectation, CMC for social interaction was perceived as a negative influence to psychological functioning by men and women. Results further suggest that women’s PPB from using CMC to seek emotional/social support was significantly less compared to men’s. Bidirectional relationship was indicated only in the men’s model between self-esteem with CIU, and self-esteem and CMC for romantic/sexual relationship.
| Published in |
American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 4, Issue 3-1)
This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of University Students |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12 |
| Page(s) | 7-14 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Compulsive Internet Use, Online Disinhibition Effect, Computer-Mediated Communication, Psychological Well-Being, Loneliness, Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem
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APA Style
Ming Sing Chai, Joyce Baptist. (2015). Computer-Mediated Communication and Its Influence on Psychological Functioning. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(3-1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12
ACS Style
Ming Sing Chai; Joyce Baptist. Computer-Mediated Communication and Its Influence on Psychological Functioning. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2015, 4(3-1), 7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12
AMA Style
Ming Sing Chai, Joyce Baptist. Computer-Mediated Communication and Its Influence on Psychological Functioning. Am J Appl Psychol. 2015;4(3-1):7-14. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12,
author = {Ming Sing Chai and Joyce Baptist},
title = {Computer-Mediated Communication and Its Influence on Psychological Functioning},
journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
volume = {4},
number = {3-1},
pages = {7-14},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.s.2015040301.12},
abstract = {This study applied online disinhibition effect [1] to examine perceived psychological benefits (PPB) derived from computer-mediated communication (CMC). The models examined the relationship between psychological health (loneliness, self-esteem and social anxiety) and CMC for social interaction (to seek romantic/sexual relationships and emotional/social support), compulsive internet use (CIU) and PPB derived from CMC. Group comparisons across sex were also examined. The sample included 167 (47 men and 120 women) university students from Malaysia. Results suggest loneliness, low self-esteem and social anxiety in men can help explain CIU. For women, only social anxiety explains CIU. However, group comparison indicated that socially anxious men were less likely to be compulsive Internet users. Contrary to expectation, CMC for social interaction was perceived as a negative influence to psychological functioning by men and women. Results further suggest that women’s PPB from using CMC to seek emotional/social support was significantly less compared to men’s. Bidirectional relationship was indicated only in the men’s model between self-esteem with CIU, and self-esteem and CMC for romantic/sexual relationship.},
year = {2015}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Computer-Mediated Communication and Its Influence on Psychological Functioning AU - Ming Sing Chai AU - Joyce Baptist Y1 - 2015/03/06 PY - 2015 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12 T2 - American Journal of Applied Psychology JF - American Journal of Applied Psychology JO - American Journal of Applied Psychology SP - 7 EP - 14 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5672 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.12 AB - This study applied online disinhibition effect [1] to examine perceived psychological benefits (PPB) derived from computer-mediated communication (CMC). The models examined the relationship between psychological health (loneliness, self-esteem and social anxiety) and CMC for social interaction (to seek romantic/sexual relationships and emotional/social support), compulsive internet use (CIU) and PPB derived from CMC. Group comparisons across sex were also examined. The sample included 167 (47 men and 120 women) university students from Malaysia. Results suggest loneliness, low self-esteem and social anxiety in men can help explain CIU. For women, only social anxiety explains CIU. However, group comparison indicated that socially anxious men were less likely to be compulsive Internet users. Contrary to expectation, CMC for social interaction was perceived as a negative influence to psychological functioning by men and women. Results further suggest that women’s PPB from using CMC to seek emotional/social support was significantly less compared to men’s. Bidirectional relationship was indicated only in the men’s model between self-esteem with CIU, and self-esteem and CMC for romantic/sexual relationship. VL - 4 IS - 3-1 ER -
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