Emotional Regulation and Pathological Internet use among College Students of a Selected Higher Education Institution

Abstract

This study explored emotional regulation and pathological internet use among college students in a selected higher education institution in Rizal, Philippines. Using a descriptive correlational design, the study involved 49 voluntary respondents with a mean age of 20.47 years. Data were gathered through two standardised instruments administered through a Google Form: The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) by Gross and John (2003) and the Pathological Internet Use (PIU) instrument by Morahan-Martin and Schumacher (2000). The ERQ measured respondents’ tendency to regulate emotions through cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, while the PIU instrument assessed symptoms associated with problematic internet use. The results showed that respondents generally engaged in emotional regulation, as indicated by a grand weighted mean of 5.43, interpreted as moderately agree. However, 42 out of 49 respondents, equivalent to 85.71%, gave four or more yes responses on the PIU questionnaire, suggesting signs of pathological internet use based on the instrument’s criteria. Pearson’s r analysis indicated a negligible negative relationship between emotional regulation and pathological internet use (r = -0.0775), which was not statistically significant (p = 0.597). The null hypothesis was therefore retained. The findings suggest that, within this sample, emotional regulation was not significantly associated with pathological internet use, although further investigation with larger samples is warranted.