Exploring The Role Of Internet Addiction And Childhood Trauma In Maladaptive Daydreaming: Comparison Across Different Generations

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the relationship between internet addiction,  childhood trauma and maladaptive daydreaming along with comparison of different generations on maladaptive day dreaming. The sample comprised of 251 individuals between 13 to 60 years of age gathered through convenience sampling technique.  Three scales were applied on the sample named as Internet Addiction Test (Short form) (Valenti, Craparo, & Faraci, 2025), Rating of Emotional Abuse in Childhood (REACH-23) Questionnaire (Goodall & Sawrikar, 2023) and Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16; Somer, Soffer-Dudek & Ross, 2016). Results confirm the assumptions with positive correlation between internet addiction and maladaptive daydreaming, as well as between childhood trauma and maladaptive daydreaming. One way ANOVA also depicts differences on maladaptive daydreaming between generation X, Millennials and generation Z with highest scores attained by generation Z. The study highlights the importance of childhood experiences in finding refuge in maladaptive daydreaming with internet fuelling it further. It is important to exercise some control mechanisms on internet usage which makes generation Z more at risk than the older generations.