Compulsive internet use and the development of self-esteem and hope: A four-year longitudinal study

Compulsive internet use (CIU) has been linked to decrements in mental health and well-being. However, relatively little is known about how CIU relates to evaluations of the self, and in particular, whether CIU is antecedent to or is a consequence of negative evaluations of one's social worth (self-esteem) and general efficacy (hope). To examine this, we explored the longitudinal relations between CIU and the development of self-esteem and hope among adolescents over a four-year period.

Two thousand eight hundred and nine adolescents completed measures yearly from Grade 8 (M_Age = 13.7) to Grade 11. Autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models were used to test whether CIU influenced or was influenced by self-esteem and hope.

We found consistent support for a CIU-as-antecedent model. CIU preceded reductions in trait hope, and small reductions in self-esteem. In contrast, we did not find evidence for a CIU-as-consequence model: low self-esteem and hope did not predict increases in CIU over time.

Our findings suggest that CIU has negative consequences for young people's feelings of goal-efficacy, and that interventions that address the compulsive use of the internet are likely to strengthen hope and self-esteem among young people.