A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF ADULT DEPRESSION AND INTERNET ADDICTION

This study examined the relationship between internet addiction and depression among male and female students, revealing mild depression and moderate addiction levels overall. Correlational and t-test analyses assessed links between depression and Young’s Internet Addiction Test dimensions (Time/Control, Social/Emotional, Excitatory/Compensatory, Adverse Outcomes), plus gender differences. Key Results; weak positive correlations emerged (males: r=0.106-0.239; females: r=0.063-0.337*, significant for Time/Control and Adverse Outcomes at p=0.05), rejecting no-relationship hypotheses. Males showed higher addiction (t=2.75, p=0.01) but similar depression to females (t=1.26, p=0.20), partially supporting low severity claims. Findings indicate a bidirectional addiction-depression cycle, with gender-specific risks (male addiction proneness, female control vulnerabilities), aligning with prior work by Young (1998) and Hendrick (2010). Gender-tailored screenings and digital wellness programs are recommended for Indian college settings.

© 2026 — Authors retain the copyright of this article. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.