Relationship between Communication Stance and Characteristics of Internet Use

청소년에서의 인터넷 중독 정도 조사 및 이에 따른 의사소통 유형과의 관계

Objectives : Internet became essential component in these days. This study primarily tried to find out the characteristics of high risk internet users through using the communication scale. Methods : We investigated levels of internet addiction using Internet Addiction Scale in 1,193 high school and middle school students. Participants were divided into 3 groups (high risk user group, potential risk user group, normal user group) according to the results from internet addiction scale. We additionally surveyed characteristics of internet use, and patterns of communication and Communication Scale based on Satir theory in 614 from 1,193 participants. Results : Boys showed higher tendencies for internet addiction than girls in internet addiction scale. There were significant differences in mean computer using time especially during weekends among 3 internet user groups. The distribution of communication types in each internet user group was similar and this finding coincided with previous study results. However high risk user group showed higher scores in each inadequate communication pattern such as placating, blaming, super-reasonable and irrelevant stance. Conclusion : These results suggest that adolescents who use internet in addictive patterns may have more problematic communication styles and these may be associated with poor interpersonal relationships.