INTERNET USE, SELF-EFFICACY AND PERCEIVED STRESS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

In the process of empowering oneself holistically, one cannot undermine the role of self-efficacy. Further, coping with everyday hassles effectively and most importantly our perception of stress plays a very crucial role in grooming ourselves adequately. Considering the importance of both in this techno-friendly world, the present study was conducted to understand internet use, Problematic internet use. In addition, it also looked into self-efficacy and Perceived stress among Undergraduate students in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The study adopted Internet Addiction Test (Kimberly young,1998), General Self-efficacy Scale (Schwarzer, et.al;1995) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, Sheldon Cohen,1988) on 104 participant undergraduate students (48 male ,56 female). The study revealed a positive correlation (r= .590) between internet use and perceived stress among undergraduate students. Further, it was revealed that gender has significant effect on internet use (t= 1.99, p<.01**), self-efficacy (t= -2.97, p<.02**) and perceived stress (t= 1.13, p<.03**). Hence, the study is expected to be helpful in addressing various mental health issues and will support the future research.