Frontiers in Public Health (Jan 2023)

The longitudinal association between internet addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Li Zhao,
  • Xiang Li,
  • Qin Yang,
  • Yinhui Peng,
  • Lihua Jiang,
  • Peng Jia,
  • Peng Jia,
  • Wei Shi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1096660
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and related prevention policies, such as home quarantine or online courses, could increase the risks of experiencing internet addiction and mental health problems among Chinese adolescents. There is a lack of longitudinal evidence to show the association between internet addiction symptoms and psychological consequences (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms).ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the association between internet addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsAn effective sample of 7,958 Chinese adolescents was recruited for this two-wave longitudinal survey conducted over a six-month interval. All participants completed two-wave surveys before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal cross-lagged path model was used to analyze the associations between internet addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms after controlling for four covariates (i.e., age, sex, minority, and COVID-19 influence).ResultsHigher depressive and anxiety symptoms before COVID-19 significantly predicted severe internet addiction during COVID-19. Results showed a significant bidirectional relationship between internet addiction and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the prevalence of internet addiction displayed an increasing trend over the two waves. Conversely, a reduced prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was observed over the two waves.ConclusionThis current study provided valuable evidence that psychological problems and internet addiction significantly influenced each other before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Consequently, the presence of psychological problems before and during the COVID-19 outbreak could indicate internet addiction. Thus, depression- and anxiety-related psychotherapies should be developed to prevent internet addiction among Chinese adolescents.

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