Abstract
From the perspective of positive youth development, developmental assets and self-control play critical roles in promoting adolescent development. However, their effects have not been evaluated in the current issue, internet gaming disorder (IGD). IGD is gradually becoming an important social problem among worldwide youth and has been included in the eleventh International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Therefore, the present study was determined to investigate the relationship between developmental assets, self-control, and IGD. A two-wave longitudinal study, with each wave spanning half a year apart, was conducted in a sample of 1023 adolescents (aging from 11 to 15, 49.36% boys) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of the moderated mediation model revealed that T1 developmental assets could predict less IGD at T2 directly or through T1 self-control indirectly. Furthermore, the moderating effect of gender was not significant in the mediation model. Overall, adolescents who experience more developmental assets are less likely to suffer IGD. Moreover, developmental assets are conducive to developing a higher level of self-control, which in turn contributes to preventing or intervening in IGD as well. Therefore, measures should be taken to construct developmental assets to prevent or reduce IGD during adolescence.
Highlights
During the COVID-19 pandemic, students are participating in online education through various mobile devices, such as computers and mobile phones [1]
Most of the remaining adolescents were from families at the average economic level (3.10% were from families under the average economic level and 1.85% were from families above the average economic level)
From the perspective of positive youth development, scholars indicate that developmental assets play a critical role in promoting adolescent development
Summary
During the COVID-19 pandemic, students are participating in online education through various mobile devices, such as computers and mobile phones [1] With these mobile devices, adolescents are more accessible to internet games, which may increase the possibility of internet gaming disorder (IGD). A growing number of studies have demonstrated that IGD can lead to other developmental problems, including mental disorders and problematic behaviors [3, 7]. It will result in a series of alterations in brain function and structure [8,9,10,11].
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