Abstract
Using the Internet has become one of the most popular leisure activities among postsecondary students in China. Concern about the large number of students using the Internet has led to an increase in research on the influencing factors of Internet addiction and the negative consequences caused by it. This short-term longitudinal study examined the associations among three dimensions of social support [objective support (OS), subjective support (SS), and support utilization (SU)], loneliness, and the four dimensions of Internet addiction (compulsive Internet use [CIU] & withdrawal from Internet addiction [WIA], tolerance of Internet addiction [TIA], time-management problems [TMPs], and interpersonal and health problems [IHPs]) in a Chinese sample. A total of 169 postsecondary first-year students (88 girls and 81 boys; mean age = 18.31 years) participated in the study. The questionnaire measurements were taken at the beginning of the school year (T1), 6 months later (T2), and 1 year later (T3). Cross-lagged and structural equation modeling analyses indicated that (a) OS (T1) and SU (T1) negatively predicted loneliness (T2); and loneliness (T2) negatively predicted OS (T3) and SU(T3); (b) CIU & WIA (T1) and TMPs (T1) positively predicted loneliness (T2); and loneliness (T2) positively predicted CIU & WIA (T3), TIA (T3), TMP (T3), and IHP (T3); (c) SS (T1) directly affected TIA (T3) and TMP (T3); and (d) loneliness (T2) played a mediating role in the relationships between OS (T1) and CIU (T3), OS (T1) and TMP (T3), OS (T1) and IHP (T3), and SU (T1) and IHP (T3). Finally, interventions for Internet addiction and implications for future studies were discussed.
Highlights
According to the 40th China Internet Network Information Center [CNNIC] (2017), 751 million Chinese citizens use the Internet
The results showed that the support utilization (SU) reported by female students was significantly higher than that of the male students at T1 and T3
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a negative relationship exists between social support and loneliness (Wu, 2004; Chen et al, 2007; O’Donovan and Hughes, 2007; Yildirim and Kocabiyik, 2010; Wu et al, 2016)
Summary
According to the 40th China Internet Network Information Center [CNNIC] (2017), 751 million Chinese citizens use the Internet. Proper Internet use can contribute to the development of adolescents by promoting socialization and their ego identities (Zhang et al, 2008; Jackson et al, 2011). No clear and unified agreement exists in the literature on the terms used for the problems associated with Internet use (Musetti et al, 2016; Musetti and Corsano, 2018). Researchers have developed relevant scales to measure Internet addiction through the internal psychological experiences and external behavioral problems of Internet users (Suler, 1999; Chou and Hsiao, 2000; Morahan-Martin and Schumacher, 2000; Cui and Xin, 2004)
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