School of Data Science and Computer Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, 510006 Guangzhou, China.
Organization Department, The Chinese Communist Party Committee of Guangdong Province, 510080 Guangzhou, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 16;19(6):3505. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063505.
A robust positive association between perceived discrimination and Internet gaming addiction (IGA) among adolescents has been demonstrated by existing research; however, the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain largely unknown. This study, grounded in the cognitive-behavioral and social development models, examined whether deviant peer affiliation and maladaptive cognitions mediated the predictive effect of perceived discrimination on adolescent IGA. Six-hundred-and-sixty students (Mean = 13.43 years; 367 female participants) recruited from southern China participated in four assessments (fall 7th grade, spring 7th grade, fall 8th grade, spring 8th grade). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed their demographics, as well as questionnaire measures of perceived discrimination, deviant peer affiliation, maladaptive cognitions, and IGA. The structural equation model showed that fall 7th grade's perceived discrimination positively predicted spring 7th grade's deviant peer affiliation, which, in turn, increased fall 8th grade's maladaptive cognitions, ultimately increasing spring 8th grade's IGA. Moreover, the indirect effect of fall 7th grade's perceived discrimination on spring 8th grade's IGA via spring 7th grade's deviant peer affiliation was also significant. The results suggested deviant peer affiliation and maladaptive cognitions as potential mediating mechanisms linking perceived discrimination to adolescent IGA. These findings have important implications for the prevention and intervention of adolescent IGA.
已有研究表明，青少年感知到的歧视与网络成瘾（IGA）之间存在强烈的正相关关系；然而，这种关系背后的中介机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。本研究以认知行为和社会发展模型为基础，考察了偏差同伴关系和适应不良认知是否在感知歧视对青少年 IGA 的预测作用中起中介作用。从中国南方招募了 660 名学生（平均年龄为 13.43 岁，其中 367 名女性参与者），他们在四个评估阶段（7 年级秋季、7 年级春季、8 年级秋季和 8 年级春季）参与了研究。参与者完成了一份自我报告问卷，评估了他们的人口统计学特征，以及感知歧视、偏差同伴关系、适应不良认知和 IGA 的问卷测量。结构方程模型显示，7 年级秋季的感知歧视正向预测 7 年级春季的偏差同伴关系，而偏差同伴关系又增加了 8 年级秋季的适应不良认知，最终增加了 8 年级春季的 IGA。此外，7 年级秋季的感知歧视通过 7 年级春季的偏差同伴关系对 8 年级春季的 IGA 的间接影响也具有统计学意义。研究结果表明，偏差同伴关系和适应不良认知是感知歧视与青少年 IGA 之间联系的潜在中介机制。这些发现对预防和干预青少年 IGA 具有重要意义。
