Abstract
Evidently, the school climate is important in reducing adolescent problematic online game use (POGU); however, the mechanism accounting for this association remains largely unknown. This study examined whether loneliness mediated the link between school climate and adolescent POGU and whether this mediating process was moderated by adolescent intentional self-regulation. To this end, self-report questionnaires were distributed. Participants were 500 12–17-years-old Chinese adolescents (Meanage = 13.59 years, 50.60% male). After controlling for adolescents' gender, age, family socioeconomic status, and self-esteem, the results showed that the negative association between school climate and adolescent POGU was partially mediated by loneliness. Moreover, this indirect link was stronger for adolescents with low intentional self-regulation than for those with high intentional self-regulation. These findings highlight loneliness as a potential mechanism linking school climate to adolescent POGU and provide guidance for the development of effective interventions for addressing the adverse effects of a negative school climate.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, problematic online game use (POGU) as a global public health issue has received increasing research interest [1,2,3]
The results showed that school climate and intentional self-regulation were both negatively related to loneliness and POGU, whereas loneliness was positively related to POGU
These findings suggest that a negative school climate, low intentional self-regulation, and high loneliness all were potential risk factors for POGU, and a negative school climate and low intentional self-regulation were both potential risk factors for loneliness
Summary
Over the past two decades, problematic online game use (POGU) as a global public health issue has received increasing research interest [1,2,3]. POGU, a subtype of problematic Internet use, refers to the uncontrollable, excessive, and compulsive use of online games that causes social and/or emotional problems [4]. Individuals with POGU spend more time gaming than planned at the expense of other important activities, causing negative social and academic outcomes. Increasing evidence has consistently confirmed that POGU is associated with a variety of negative outcomes such as poor academic performance, depression, and aggression [3, 5, 6]. An investigation of the factors that predict POGU is urgently needed to support the development of intervention programs
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