Alexithymia as a Psychological Risk Factor for Internet Addiction among University Students

Abstract

With the growing awareness about mental health, people in today’s day and age have become very conscious and careful about their emotions and their mental peace. And to maintain an optimal mental health understanding about one’s own self and emotions are crucial, and with the rapid advancement in technology people’s personalities have been impacted to a large extent, hence current research work is zeroed on understanding the interplay between alexithymia which is characterized with difficulty in understanding and expressing emotions, and problematic internet use or internet addiction in the young adults. Participants were administered with standardized tools to assess the studied variables namely internet addiction and alexithymia. The findings of the study emphasizes on a positive link among the studied variables which is very important to address so as to control or rather prevent any negative effects on an individual’s health. The findings also, underscores the importance of incorporating emotional awareness and regulation strategies as a part of intervention in order to avoid or prevent any detrimental impact on mental health.