Attachment Styles, Perfectionism, and Cyberloafing among University Students: The Mediating Role of Loneliness

Document Type : Call for papers in English

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

2 Bachelor's Degree, Department of Psychology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

10.22055/psy.2026.51795.3589
Abstract
Aim: Cyberloafing is defined as the use of the internet for non-work-related purposes along working hours. The current study examined the mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between insecure attachment, perfectionism, and cyberloafing.

Methods: Participants consisted of 561 individuals +18 years old who had access to the internet (males = 46.8%, mean age = 27.60 ± 7.86 years and females = 53.1%, mean age = 25.37 ± 9.16 years). They voluntarily completed a questionnaire package which included the Russell's Loneliness Questionnaire (UCLA), Hill Perfectionism Inventory (HPI), cyberloafing scale of Akbulut et al, (2016), and the experiences in close relationships revise scale (ECR-R). Data were analyzed by implementing Pearson correlation and testing a mediation via the Structural Equation Model approach.

Results: The findings revealed that the structural model of attachment style, perfectionism and cyberloafing with the mediating role of loneliness had a good fit (GFI = 0.94; NFI = 0.94; CFI = 0.96; RMSEA= 0.057). Further, all paths in the proposed model were statistically significant, explaining 39% of the variance in cyberloafing.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that loneliness could demonstrate a full mediating role in the correlation between perfectionism and cyberloafing. Also, according to the findings, loneliness could demonstrate a partially mediating role in the correlation between perfectionism and cyberloafing

Keywords


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Volume 32, Special Issue
December 2025
Pages 133-146

  • Receive Date 15 May 2026
  • Revise Date 29 October 2026
  • Accept Date 14 October 2026