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internet addiction disorder ( iad ) is defined as one s inability to control his internet using , which could lead to physical , psychological , and social difficulties ( 1 ) .
owing to web - based technologies and increased internet access in latin america and asia , use of internet has dramatically increased across the world , with the global number of internet users reaching more than 2.3 billion in 2011 ( 2 ) .
internet provides many positive benefits to users as it allows them to obtain new information , knowledge , and even entertainment .
its explosive growth in the last decade had a huge impact on communication and interpersonal behavior .
internet was originally designed to facilitate communication and research activities , but the dramatic increase in its use in recent years has led to pathological use ( 3 , 4 ) . today
clinical specialists have reported cases of this disorder observed in their clinics . as a new form of addiction in recent years ,
it has attracted the attention of researchers in psychology , psychiatry , sociology , and other scientific fields ( 5 ) . in his research
, yang found that internet addiction has seven main reasons : insecurity , financial problems , marital discontent , work stress , anxiety , family disputes , and limited social life ( 6 ) .
griffiths defined internet addiction as a non - chemical addiction originating from interactions between human and machines and added that technological addiction is either passive ( television ) or active ( computer games ) , prompting and reinforcing the characteristics facilitating addictive tendencies ( 4 ) .
internet addiction is accompanied by several psychological problems , including self - doubt , anxiety , and depression ( 7 ) .
perceived social support is defined as a mental sense of belonging , acceptance , and being loved by others ; thus , it can foster secure relationships for a person .
theorists believe that perceived social support , as a comparative source , can decrease the harmful effects of stressful factors in one s environment ( 8) .
it is believed that the social support of friends , family , and others decreases psychological stress in people .
shaikhalizade et al . ( 9 ) , cohen and sayme ( 1985 ) , vex ( 1998 ) , and sarasoon ( 1990 ) referred to the major point that decreasing social support increases the vulnerability of physical and mental structures .
concurrent with many studies worldwide , a few researches are conducted in iran ( 10 ) .
it was found that because of internet addiction , students had weaker social relations and weaker mental health ; they preferred using internet to having social relationship with their friends , family , spouse and other people .
the current research aimed to investigate comprehensive social support , self - esteem , and internet addiction among university students .
in the current descriptive research , the statistical sample consisted of 101 female students of al - zahra university ( an all - female university ) , tehran , iran .
sample size was computed with  = 0.05 ,  = 0.10 , r = 0.29 using equation 1 : cluster sampling was employed to select participants ; subjects completed the multidimensional scale of perceived social support , rosenberg self - esteem scale , and yang internet addiction tests .
perceived social support ( mspss ) is a measurement with 12 items provided by smith et al .
to evaluate perceived social support from three resources : family , friends , and effective persons around us . this scale measures perceived social support by examining these three areas .
it has three subscales : family ( items 3 , 4 , 8 , and 11 ) , friends ( items 6 , 7 , 9 , and 12 ) , and others ( items 1 , 2 , 5 , and 10 ) .
the total alpha coefficient of test is 0.91 , and the alpha coefficient of its subscales ranges from 0.90 to 0.95 .
this scale has good construct validity , because it has no correlation with the social goodness scale of marlow - kron .
a high score in this scale shows that there is high level of perceived social support ( 11 ) . in the iranian subjects ,
perceived social support values for family , friends , and others were 89% , 86% , and 82% , respectively ( 12 ) .
the internet addiction test ( iat ) developed by kimberly young is a reliable and valid measure of addictive use of internet .
it consists of 20 items that measure mild , moderate , and severe levels of internet addiction .
the total score for each item was calculated ; the higher the score , the greater the level of addiction .
scores are interpreted as follows : 20 - 49 points indicates an average online user .
the user may surf the web a bit too long at times , but has control over usage ; 50 - 79 points indicates the user is experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of internet , and its full impact on the user s life should be considered ; 80 - 100 points indicates the user s internet usage is causing significant problems in his / her life .
its impact should be alleviated , and the problem caused by internet usage should be directly addressed ( 13 ) .
the rosenberg self - esteem scale is a 10-item , self - report measure of global self - esteem .
it consists of 10 statements related to overall feelings of self - worth or self - acceptance .
the items are ranked on four - point scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree . among the iranian subjects , the coefficient of internal consistency in the whole subjects was 0.84 ( 14 ) .
after completion of the questionnaires , the data were analyzed by correlation and multiple regression analysis tests using spss version 21 .
perceived social support ( mspss ) is a measurement with 12 items provided by smith et al . to evaluate perceived social support from three resources : family , friends , and effective persons around us .
it has three subscales : family ( items 3 , 4 , 8 , and 11 ) , friends ( items 6 , 7 , 9 , and 12 ) , and others ( items 1 , 2 , 5 , and 10 ) .
the total alpha coefficient of test is 0.91 , and the alpha coefficient of its subscales ranges from 0.90 to 0.95 .
this scale has good construct validity , because it has no correlation with the social goodness scale of marlow - kron .
a high score in this scale shows that there is high level of perceived social support ( 11 ) . in the iranian subjects ,
perceived social support values for family , friends , and others were 89% , 86% , and 82% , respectively ( 12 ) .
the internet addiction test ( iat ) developed by kimberly young is a reliable and valid measure of addictive use of internet .
it consists of 20 items that measure mild , moderate , and severe levels of internet addiction .
the total score for each item was calculated ; the higher the score , the greater the level of addiction .
scores are interpreted as follows : 20 - 49 points indicates an average online user .
the user may surf the web a bit too long at times , but has control over usage ; 50 - 79 points indicates the user is experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of internet , and its full impact on the user s life should be considered ; 80 - 100 points indicates the user s internet usage is causing significant problems in his / her life .
its impact should be alleviated , and the problem caused by internet usage should be directly addressed ( 13 ) .
the rosenberg self - esteem scale is a 10-item , self - report measure of global self - esteem .
it consists of 10 statements related to overall feelings of self - worth or self - acceptance .
the items are ranked on four - point scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree . among the iranian subjects , the coefficient of internal consistency in the whole subjects was 0.84 ( 14 ) .
after completion of the questionnaires , the data were analyzed by correlation and multiple regression analysis tests using spss version 21 .
according to the descriptive statistics , about 22.8% and 77.2% of the subjects had high low levels of self - esteem , respectively .
results of the descriptive statistics based on table 1 and figure 1 showed that , based on answers to question 1 , 29.7% , 9.9% , and 13.9% of the subjects said that they frequently , often , and always used internet more than they intended , respectively
. results of the descriptive statistics showed that , based on answers to question four concerning effective support by family or friends , 29.7% believe that they enjoyed family support , and 23.8% enjoyed friends support ( figure 2 ) .
results of the stepwise regression test showed that the scale of internet addiction and the subscale of family were predicative variables for self - esteem ( r = 0.137 , p < 0.005 , f2 , 96 = 77.7 ) .
the regression model showed that it could be possible to predict one s self - esteem score by the internet addiction scale and family subscale ( y = 3.66 - 0.085 ait + 0.734 family ) .
scale of perceived social support includes the subscales of family , friends , and others ( tables 2 and 3 ) .   scale of perceived social support includes the subscales of family , friends , and others .
the current research investigated perceived social support , self - esteem , and internet addiction among university students .
the findings demonstrated that persons with low self - esteem were more vulnerable to internet addiction than the ones with high self - esteem .
this result conforms to those of the previous studies ( 7 , 13 ) . according to the previous studies , addicted users had low self - esteem ( yang and tony ; kaplan , great and benyard ) . to explain these results , davis s theoretical model ( 15 ) can be used .
based on his model , low self - esteem as a psychological damage could predispose a person to becoming an internet - addicted user .
results of the current study showed a significant correlation between addiction to internet and perceived social support , the subscales of family , and others .
a study found that addicted students had low social relationships ; internet addiction may lead to weaker social , personal , familial , and friendly relationships in university students .
( 17 ) indicated that strengthening familial relationships and promoting youth positive development could prevent internet addiction in adolescents .
patients with internet addiction have more anxieties as well as prominent disruption in familial relationships ( 18 ) .
kim et al . ( 16 ) in his studies found that the levels of depression and suicide were the highest in the internet - addicted people .
( 19 ) indicated a high prevalence of internet addiction among chinese adolescent internet users .
the study highlighted the importance of stressors in interpersonal and school - related problems , which are mainly mediated with a negative coping style , as risk factors for internet addiction ( 19 ) .
kaplan s studies showed that internet - addicted persons have low levels of social relationships compared with others ( 20 ) .
( 13 ) showed that internet usage , in spite of creating a figurative space for relationships with others , is unable to create relationships with friends and family .
davis theoretical model can explain these results . based on this model , loneliness due to social isolationism or lack of social support ,
the findings of several studies on internet addiction also showed that persons who have low self - esteem or social skills are exposed to internet addiction more than others ; they look for their identity or ranking in the figurative space of internet .
however , it can not be concluded that people with low self - esteem have the inclination to use internet or that internet abuse may led to weaker social relationships and create loneliness in a person , eventually causing depression or low self - esteem .
based on the previously discussed problems concerning internet usage addiction , it is necessary to provide instruction for proper use of this technology , especially to universities and students as national assets for development . due to the availability of wireless technology at al - zahra university , study subjects were selected from the students of this university .
unfortunately , since it is an all - female university , all participants were female . it is recommended that future studies compare the internet addiction among females and males .
furthermore , it is recommended to study the relationships between internet addiction , depression factors , perceived social support , and self - esteem in males .
due to the availability of wireless technology at al - zahra university , study subjects were selected from the students of this university . unfortunately , since it is an all - female university , all participants were female .
furthermore , it is recommended to study the relationships between internet addiction , depression factors , perceived social support , and self - esteem in males .
background : internet addiction is a global phenomenon that causes serious problems in mental health and social communication . students form a vulnerable group , since they have free , easy , and daily access to the internet.objectives:the current study aimed to investigate perceived social support , self - esteem , and internet addiction among al - zahra university students.materials and methods : in the current descriptive research , the statistical sample consisted of 101 female students residing at al - zahra university dormitory , tehran , iran . 
 participants were randomly selected and their identities were classified . 
 then , they completed the multidimensional scale of perceived social support , rosenberg s self - esteem scale , and yang internet addiction test . 
 after completion of the questionnaires , the data were analyzed using the correlation test and stepwise regression.results:the pearson correlation coefficient indicated significant relationships between self - esteem and internet addiction ( p < 0.05 , r = -0.345 ) , perceived social support ( r = 0.224 , p < 0.05 ) , and the subscale of family ( r = 0.311 , p < 0.05 ) . the findings also demonstrated a significant relationship between internet addiction and perceived social support ( r = -0.332 , p < 0.05 ) , the subscale of family ( p < 0.05 , r = -0.402 ) , and the other subscales ( p < 0.05 , r = -0.287 ) . results of the stepwise regression showed that the scale of internet addiction and the family subscale were predicative variables for self - esteem ( r = 0.137 , p < 0.01 , f2 , 96 = 77.7).conclusions : findings of the current study showed that persons with low self - esteem were more vulnerable to internet addiction .