Abstract
IntroductionThis study aimed to examine the mediating role of sleep quality in the association of problematic internet use (PIU) and problematic gaming with psychological distress among college students in China.MethodsData of 1040 full-time students from multiple colleges in China were examined. Respondents were asked about their internet use and gaming behaviors, sleep quality, psychological distress, and sociodemographic characteristics. The mediating role of sleep quality in the PIU- and problematic gaming-psychological distress link was examined respectively.ResultsPIU was associated with decreased sleep quality (r = .32, p < .001) and increased psychological distress (r = .46, p < .001). Problematic gaming was also associated with decreased sleep quality (r = .22, p < .001) and increased psychological distress (r = .46, p < .001). Sleep quality accounted for 23.5% of the indirect effect of PIU on psychological distress, and 17.9% of the indirect effect of problematic gaming on psychological distress.ConclusionsSleep quality had a meaningful mediating effect on the PIU-psychological distress link, but only exerted a small mediating effect on the problematic gaming-psychological distress link. In addition to promoting healthy internet usage, strategies aimed at mitigating the negative effect of excessive internet use on psychological health might benefit from those aimed at improving sleep quality.
Highlights
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of sleep quality in the association of problematic internet use (PIU) and problematic gaming with psychological distress among college students in China
Wang et al BMC Psychiatry (2021) 21:103 addiction, excessive internet use, as problematic internet use (PIU), is more of an umbrella term depicting a range of behaviors conducted via the internet, such as video gaming, shopping, social networking, pornography viewing, cyber-bullying, etc
PIU was associated with decreased sleep quality (r = .32, p < .001) and increased psychological distress (r = .46, p < .001) (Table 4)
Summary
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of sleep quality in the association of problematic internet use (PIU) and problematic gaming with psychological distress among college students in China. By June of 2019, Asia had approximately 2.3 billion internet users, making up half (50.7%) of all internet users worldwide [1]. Within Asia, China was the country with the highest percentage of internet users (37.1%) among its population [2]. By March of 2020, there were 904 million internet users in China, and the largest percentage of users (21.5%) were those between 20 and 29 years of age, or the young adult population [3]. Wang et al BMC Psychiatry (2021) 21:103 addiction, excessive internet use, as problematic internet use (PIU), is more of an umbrella term depicting a range of behaviors conducted via the internet, such as video gaming, shopping, social networking, pornography viewing, cyber-bullying, etc. It might be helpful to differentiate “generalized internet addiction” from “specific internet addiction” [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
