EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY AND SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE AS DETERMINANTS OF INTERNET ADDICTION AMONG NIGERIAN STUDENTS

Abstract

This study explored the impacts of emotional sensitivity and social intelligence on internet addiction among students of Ibom Metropolitan Polytechnic, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Adopting a cross-sectional survey research design, purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 149 students of the institution with mean age of 22.21 years. Instruments for data collection were the 8-item Emotional Intimacy dimension of McGill Friendship Questionnaire-Respondent's Affection (MFQ-RA), the Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS), and the Vietnamese version of Internet Addiction Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlations and multiple linear regressions were used to analyse the data. The first hypothesis, which stated that students with low emotional sensitivity will report more internet addiction than students with high emotional sensitivity, was not confirmed. The second hypothesis, that proposed students having low social intelligence will report more internet addiction than students with high social intelligence, was confirmed. Findings oriented the discussion, conclusion, and implications for future research and policy.