An Investigation of Cyberloafing in Relation to Coping Styles and Psychological Symptoms in an Educational Setting

Abstract

Cyberloafing, the intentional use of the Internet for personal purposes during class hours, has received the scholars' attention due to the increased access to digital devices in educational settings. Considering the possible negative consequences of misuse of the Internet on health and well-being, the current study aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship by examining in detail the role of coping strategies. The sample consisted of 272 undergraduate students. The participants were asked to fill out items measuring cyberloafing behaviors, coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused), and psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, anger, and somatization). The results revealed that cyberloafing is positively related to psychological symptoms. Furthermore, it is observed that cyberloafing moderates the relationship between emotion-focused coping and psychological symptoms such that at high levels of cyberloafing, emotion-focused coping is associated with higher levels of psychological symptoms. These findings contribute to the existing literature on students' psychological well-being in terms of highlighting its relation with coping strategies and problematic Internet use.

Keywords: Cyberloafing; coping; internet use; psychological symptoms; university students.