Resilience and its Effects on Internet Addiction and Academic Performance: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction among Medical Students.

Abstract

Introduction: Resilience, as an important psychological resource for adaptation, has been associated with lower levels of Internet addiction and better academic outcomes. This research sought to determine how life satisfaction functions as a mediator in the relationship between resilience, academic performance, and Internet addiction among medical students. A deeper understanding of these relationships may contribute to the design of evidence-based interventions to improve academic performance and reduce Internet addiction among medical students.

Methods: This quantitative correlational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted among medical students at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences during the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 239 participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), the Short Form of Young's Internet Addiction Test (s-IAT), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in Smart-PLS 3. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the measurement model through factor loadings, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. The structural model was evaluated through path coefficient analysis, while bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples was applied to examine the significance of the hypothesized direct and indirect effects.

Results: In the proposed model, resilience was expected to influence Internet addiction and academic performance both directly and indirectly through life satisfaction as a mediating variable. The results showed that resilience had a direct negative effect on Internet addiction (β = -0.24, t = 3.35, p < 0.001) and a positive effect on life satisfaction (β = 0.36, t = 5.87, p < 0.001), while life satisfaction negatively predicted Internet addiction (β = -0.30, t = 4.64, p < 0.001) and positively predicted academic performance (β = 0.16, t = 2.36, p = 0.018). However, the direct effect of resilience on academic performance was not significant β = 0.11, t = 1.44, p = 0.15). Indirect effects confirmed that resilience influenced both Internet addiction (β = -0.11, t = 3.69, p < 0.001) and academic performance (β = 0.06, t = 2.18, p = 0.030) through life satisfaction, supporting the mediating role of life satisfaction in the model. The model also demonstrated acceptable explanatory and predictive power (R², Q², f²) and good fit (SRMR = 0.074), indicating robustness of the proposed theoretical model.

Conclusion: The findings support the proposed mediation model and highlight that resilience reduces Internet addiction mainly through increasing life satisfaction. In practice, strengthening both resilience and life satisfaction can be an effective approach to lowering problematic Internet use and supporting academic functioning among medical students. These results provide useful guidance for designing targeted mental health interventions in academic settings.