1 Department of Educational Psychology and School Counseling, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University , Beijing, China .
2 Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University , Beijing, China .
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018 Nov;21(11):719-726. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2018.0279. Epub 2018 Oct 20.
The previous research on personality and problematic Internet use (PIU) has predominantly, if not exclusively, focused on their direct associations with cross-sectional designs. Based on four annual waves of data from 2,516 Chinese college students, this study examined the mediating role of maladaptive cognitions over Internet use in the associations between personality traits (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism) and PIU. Results indicated that these personality traits assessed at year 2 (i.e., the second college year) were indirectly associated with PIU at year 4 via maladaptive cognitions over Internet use at year 3. The indirect associations were robust after controlling for PIU at year 2, depression and anxiety at year 4, and a series of demographic covariates at year 1. Such findings highlight various personality traits as critical antecedents of PIU. Furthermore, identifying maladaptive cognitions over Internet use as a mechanism explaining the associations between personality traits and PIU may facilitate more targeted and effective intervention efforts.
先前关于人格和网络问题使用（PIU）的研究主要（如果不是完全的话）集中在它们与横断面设计的直接关联上。基于 2516 名中国大学生的四年数据，本研究检验了在人格特质（即神经质、外向性和精神病质）与 PIU 之间的关联中，过度上网的适应不良认知的中介作用。结果表明，这些在第 2 年（即大学第 2 年）评估的人格特质，通过第 3 年过度上网的适应不良认知，间接地与第 4 年的 PIU 相关。在控制了第 2 年的 PIU、第 4 年的抑郁和焦虑以及第 1 年的一系列人口统计学协变量后，这种间接关联仍然稳健。这些发现强调了各种人格特质是 PIU 的关键前兆。此外，将过度上网的适应不良认知确定为解释人格特质与 PIU 之间关联的机制，可能有助于更有针对性和更有效的干预措施。
