Li Mengze, Wang Yidi, Liu Bin, Ni Xiaoli, Ma Zhujing, Li Fengzhan, Yuan Tifei, Chen Hongyi, Wu Zhongying, Jia Qiannan, Song Lei, Jin Yinchuan, Yang Qun
Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), 169 West Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
School of Humanities and Social Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 25;25(1):320. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21496-y.
Internet addiction has emerged as a significant mental health issue among university students. The study aimed to compare the network structures of Internet addiction and mental health symptoms among university students in China and Malawi, which provide insights into culturally sensitive prevention and intervention strategies.
Network analysis was used on two datasets: Malawi (n = 688) and China (n = 975) using the Internet Addiction Test and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Network estimation, centrality, bridge estimation and network comparison, were conducted using R software.
The prevalence of internet addiction and mental health was significantly higher in China than Malawi. In Malawi, the strongest edges were "school work" - "job performance" and "worthless" - "unable to play a useful part". The central nodes were "daily work suffering", "fantasize" and "lost interest". In China, the strongest edges were "neglect household" - "neglect partner" and "difficult to enjoy" - "daily work suffering". The central nodes were "trouble thinking", "unhappiness", and "unable to play a useful part". Bridge symptoms varied between the countries, with functional impairments (school work, daily work suffering and difficult to make decision) being more prominent in Malawi and emotional disturbances (daily work suffering, act annoyed and difficult to enjoy) in China.
The study highlights significant differences in the network structures of internet addiction and mental health between China and Malawi, which underscore the importance of culturally sensitive mental health interventions. In Malawi, addressing functional impairments related to academic and work performance is crucial, while in China, interventions should focus on emotional and relational aspects.
网络成瘾已成为大学生中一个重要的心理健康问题。本研究旨在比较中国和马拉维大学生网络成瘾与心理健康症状的网络结构，从而为具有文化敏感性的预防和干预策略提供见解。
使用网络分析对两个数据集进行研究，即马拉维数据集（n = 688）和中国数据集（n = 975），采用网络成瘾测试和自评问卷。使用R软件进行网络估计、中心性分析、桥梁估计和网络比较。
中国网络成瘾和心理健康的患病率显著高于马拉维。在马拉维，最强的关联是“学业”——“工作表现”以及“无价值感”——“无法发挥作用”。中心节点是“日常工作受影响”“幻想”和“失去兴趣”。在中国，最强的关联是“忽视家庭”——“忽视伴侣”以及“难以享受”——“日常工作受影响”。中心节点是“思维困难”“不开心”和“无法发挥作用”。两国之间的桥梁症状有所不同，功能障碍（学业、日常工作受影响和难以做决定）在马拉维更为突出，而情绪困扰（日常工作受影响、易怒和难以享受）在中国更为突出。
该研究突出了中国和马拉维在网络成瘾与心理健康网络结构上的显著差异，这强调了具有文化敏感性的心理健康干预措施的重要性。在马拉维，解决与学业和工作表现相关的功能障碍至关重要，而在中国，干预措施应侧重于情绪和人际关系方面。
