Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Psychiatry Res. 2017 Aug;254:211-217. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.04.057. Epub 2017 Apr 26.
Studies have examined social maladjustment among individuals with Internet addiction, but little is known about their deficits in specific social skills and the underlying psychological mechanisms. The present study filled these gaps by (a) establishing a relationship between deficits in facial expression recognition and Internet addiction, and (b) examining the mediating role of perceived stress that explains this hypothesized relationship. Ninety-seven participants completed validated questionnaires that assessed their levels of Internet addiction and perceived stress, and performed a computer-based task that measured their facial expression recognition. The results revealed a positive relationship between deficits in recognizing disgust facial expression and Internet addiction, and this relationship was mediated by perceived stress. However, the same findings did not apply to other facial expressions. Ad hoc analyses showed that recognizing disgust was more difficult than recognizing other facial expressions, reflecting that the former task assesses a social skill that requires cognitive astuteness. The present findings contribute to the literature by identifying a specific social skill deficit related to Internet addiction and by unveiling a psychological mechanism that explains this relationship, thus providing more concrete guidelines for practitioners to strengthen specific social skills that mitigate both perceived stress and Internet addiction.
研究考察了网络成瘾者的社会适应不良，但对于他们在特定社交技能方面的缺陷以及潜在的心理机制知之甚少。本研究通过（a）确定面部表情识别缺陷与网络成瘾之间的关系，以及（b）检验感知压力的中介作用，解释了这种假设关系，填补了这些空白。97 名参与者完成了评估其网络成瘾和感知压力水平的有效问卷，并进行了一项基于计算机的任务，以测量他们的面部表情识别能力。结果表明，识别厌恶表情的缺陷与网络成瘾之间存在正相关关系，这种关系受到感知压力的影响。然而，同样的发现并不适用于其他面部表情。特别分析显示，识别厌恶表情比识别其他面部表情更困难，这反映出前者的任务评估了一种需要认知敏锐度的社交技能。本研究的发现通过确定与网络成瘾相关的特定社交技能缺陷，并揭示了解释这种关系的心理机制，为从业者提供了更具体的指导方针，以加强减轻感知压力和网络成瘾的特定社交技能，从而为文献做出了贡献。
