The Relationships Among Internet Addiction, Self-Efficacy, and Subjective Well-Being Among Undergraduate Students, with Particular Attention to the Predictive and Mediating Effects of Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The study investigated the relationships among internet addiction, self-efficacy, and subjective well-being among undergraduate students, with particular attention to the predictive and mediating effects of self-efficacy. Two hundred and ninety-four (294) undergraduate students comprising 178 females and 116 males with an age range of 19-23 years, a mean age of 20.66 and S.D. 1.125 were drawn using multi-stage (cluster, simple random: by balloting and purposive) sampling techniques as participants from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu. General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995), Young (1998a), Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) (Renshaw, 2020) were used for data collection. Correlation design was adopted, and the statistical test that was used for data analysis is mediation multiple hierarchical regression using SPSS version 27 Hayes Macro process. The findings indicate that internet addictions se=.0301*** and t=3.7340*** at p<.001 positively predict selfefficacy among undergraduate students. internet addiction se=.0493*** and t=6.2956*** at p<.001 positively predict subject well-being among undergraduate students. self-efficacy effect=.3102 at p<.001 positively mediated the relationship between internet addiction and subjective well-being. The findings therefore reinforce the importance of promoting balanced internet use, implementing self-efficacy-building interventions, and creating supportive academic environments that foster positive well-being among undergraduate students.