Negative Emotions and Pathological Internet Use: The Mediating Role of ‎Metacognitions ‎

Pathological Internet use, or internet addiction, is an emerging phenomenon that has got substantial attention by the researchers in the recent years. This study investigated the mediating role of metacognitive beliefs in the relationship between the negative emotions and internet addiction among the university students. A sample of 220 university students completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Metacognitive beliefs Questionnaire, and Internet Addiction Test. When it came to analyzing the data, the hypothesized mediating model was analyzed by the structural equation modeling. All dimensions of metacognitive beliefs were found to be positively and significantly correlated with the Pathological Internet use. Further, Positive and significant correlations were also observed between Pathological Internet use and negative emotions. The results of the structural equation modeling supported the hypothesis that the relationship between negative emotions and Pathological Internet use was mediated by metacognitive beliefs. Results of this study supported the effectiveness of metacognitive theory in Pathological Internet use, and they could provide better understanding of the Pathological Internet use.