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Behavior Modification

http://bmo.sagepub.com/

Internet Use and Misuse : Preliminary Findings from a New Assessment Instrument

Robert J. Rotunda, Steven J. Kass, Melanie A. Sutton and David T. Leon

Behav Modif 2003 27: 484

DOI: 10.1177/0145445503255600

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http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/27/4/484

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ARTICLE

Rotunda et al. / INTERNET

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION / AND MISUSE

10.1177/0145445503255600USE September 2003

Internet Use and Misuse

Preliminary Findings From

a New Assessment Instrument

ROBERT J. ROTUNDA

STEVEN J. KASS

MELANIE A. SUTTON

DAVID T. LEON

University of West Florida

The Internet is an affordable and easily accessible technology that has many potential applications to psychology. Interactive technologies engage users psychologically and may facilitate

adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. This research explored the Internet-use patterns, psychological characteristics, and negative consequences associated with online activities of 393 college students using the Internet Use Survey (IUS), a self-report instrument designed to administer online. Results indicated that participants spent an average of 3.3 total hours per day on the

Internet during the past 12 months and used the medium for multiple purposes. Although participants reported the occurrence of some potentially negative consequences related to Internet use,

the prevalence rates for most...