Chang Shan-Mei, Yeh Tzu-Pei, Ma Wei-Fen, Ho Ya-Fang, Chang Ting-Gang
Tsing Hun Interdisciplinary Program, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
School of Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Apr;28(2):349-357. doi: 10.1007/s00737-024-01511-8. Epub 2024 Sep 2.
Female adolescents are more prone to depression compared with male adolescents, and depression is often associated with poor attentional control and problematic internet use (PIU). Attentional control includes both focusing and shifting functions. Focusing refers to the ability to direct attention to a task despite distractions. Shifting refers to the ability to flexibly switch attention between different tasks. This study examines the mediating role of attentional focusing and shifting between depression and PIU.
Female high school and college students (n = 476) in Taiwan participated in a survey administered at three time points over a seven-month period. The single- and two- mediator models examined their joint mediation effects.
The results showed that the direct effect of depression on PIU was significant. The indirect effects also showed that attentional focusing was a negative partial mediator in the relationship between depression and PIU, while attentional shifting was not one.
Informed by attentional theory and digital emotion regulation, addressing depression to mitigate its negative impact on attentional control and negative emotions is crucial. The potential impact, whether harmful or beneficial, of adolescents carefully selecting their online activities to reduce the risk of PIU remains contentious. Given the focus on Taiwanese adolescent girls during the COVID-19 pandemic, further research is needed to extend the applicability of the theory to other periods without being affected by COVID-19.
与男性青少年相比，女性青少年更容易患抑郁症，且抑郁症常与注意力控制不佳和网络使用问题（PIU）相关。注意力控制包括集中和转移功能。集中是指在有干扰的情况下将注意力指向一项任务的能力。转移是指在不同任务之间灵活切换注意力的能力。本研究考察注意力集中和转移在抑郁症与网络使用问题之间的中介作用。
台湾的高中和大学女生（n = 476）参与了一项在七个月内分三个时间点进行的调查。单中介和双中介模型检验了它们的联合中介效应。
结果表明，抑郁症对网络使用问题的直接效应显著。间接效应还表明，注意力集中在抑郁症与网络使用问题的关系中是一个负向部分中介因素，而注意力转移则不是。
基于注意力理论和数字情绪调节，解决抑郁症以减轻其对注意力控制和负面情绪的负面影响至关重要。青少年谨慎选择在线活动以降低网络使用问题风险的潜在影响，无论是有害还是有益，仍存在争议。鉴于在新冠疫情期间关注的是台湾青少年女孩，需要进一步研究以将该理论的适用性扩展到不受新冠疫情影响的其他时期。
