Chen Wei, Gao Yujing, Ren Rongrong, Bi Yajie, Liao Yaxi
School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
Center for Big Data Research in Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 6;25(1):48. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-21153-w.
Internet addiction is typically linked with a variety of psychological and behavioral problems, the prevalence of Internet addiction among Chinese college students was higher than that of the general population.
The present study aimed to test the mediating and moderating effects of socioeconomic status (SES), loneliness, alienation and grade on Internet addiction among Chinese college students.
Total of 496 college students were studied, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted to analyze the obtained data.
The study found that SES can negatively predict Internet addiction (β=-0.145, p < 0.001). Moreover, loneliness and alienation play separate (β=-0.098, p < 0.001; β=-0.046, p < 0.01) and serial (β=-0.071, p < 0.001) mediating roles between SES and Internet addiction, and multigroup analysis showed that grade (sophomore year as the baseline) plays a moderation role in the association between SES → Internet addiction (sophomores vs. juniors; β = 0.249, p < 0.05) and SES →loneliness (sophomore vs. seniors; β = 0.255, p < 0.05). The VAF value was 70.27% for the mediation effect of the loneliness and alienation in the relationship between SES and Internet addiction.
SES not only has a direct effect on college students' Internet addiction behavior but also has an indirect effect on it through the chain mediation effect of loneliness and alienation. The study reveals that grade level moderates the effects, suggesting tailored interventions are needed. This research could inform measures to mitigate addiction by addressing SES, loneliness, and alienation.
网络成瘾通常与多种心理和行为问题相关，中国大学生网络成瘾的患病率高于普通人群。
本研究旨在检验社会经济地位（SES）、孤独感、疏离感和年级对中国大学生网络成瘾的中介和调节作用。
共对496名大学生进行研究，采用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）分析所得数据。
研究发现，SES能够负向预测网络成瘾（β=-0.145，p < 0.001）。此外，孤独感和疏离感在SES与网络成瘾之间分别（β=-0.098，p < 0.001；β=-0.046，p < 0.01）和依次（β=-0.071，p < 0.001）发挥中介作用，多组分析表明年级（以大二为基线）在SES→网络成瘾（大二与大三；β = 0.249，p < 0.05）和SES→孤独感（大二与大四；β = 0.255，p < 0.05）的关联中发挥调节作用。孤独感和疏离感在SES与网络成瘾关系中的中介效应的VAF值为70.27%。
SES不仅对大学生的网络成瘾行为有直接影响，还通过孤独感和疏离感的链式中介效应产生间接影响。研究表明年级水平具有调节作用，提示需要进行针对性干预。本研究可为通过解决SES、孤独感和疏离感来减轻成瘾的措施提供参考。
