Reciprocal Relationships Between Problematic Social Media Use, Problematic Gaming, and Psychological Distress Among University Students: A 9-Month Longitudinal Study
Chang CW, Huang RY, Strong C, Lin YC, Tsai MC, Chen IH, Lin CY, Pakpour AH, Griffiths MD
Frontiers in public health · 46 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Government
- Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
- Grants
- Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST110-2410-H006-115)
Based on 2 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2022-04-08 · Front Public Health · vol. 10 · p. 858482
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Cited
- 92 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 28.6× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 92 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
- Keywords
- social media addiction, gaming addiction, internet gaming disorder, psychological distress, anxiety, depression, university students, bidirectional relationship
- MeSH
- humans, longitudinal studies, students, universities, video games, male, social media, psychological distress
9 authors
From TW, CN, GB, SE
- Ching-Wen ChangNational Taiwan Normal University
- Ruyi HuangE-Da Hospital; I-Shou University
- Carol StrongNational Cheng Kung University
- Yi-Ching LinNational Taipei University of Education
- Meng‐Che TsaiNational Cheng Kung University Hospital; National Cheng Kung University
- I‐Hua Chen · correspondingQufu Normal University
Abstract
Background
The causal relationships between two specific types of problematic use in internet-related activities [i.e., problematic social media use (PSMU) and problematic gaming (PG)] and psychological distress remain controversial. The present study investigated the temporal relationships between PSMU, PG, and psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression) in university students.
Methods
Hong Kong and Taiwan university students [N = 645; nmale = 266; mean = 20.95 years (SD = 5.63)] were recruited for a survey study, with follow-ups at 3, 6, and 9 months after baseline assessment. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to assess studied variables. Demographics including age, physical characteristics (i.e., height, weight, and body mass index), and cigarette use were compared between participants who completed all the follow-ups and those who dropped out. Random intercept cross-lagged models were constructed to understand the reciprocal relationships between PSMU, PG, and psychological distress.
Results
No significant differences were found in age, physical characteristics, and cigarette use between participants who completed all the follow-ups and those who dropped out. Findings indicated that a high level of PSMU significantly increased the level of anxiety and a high level of anxiety significantly increased the level of PSMU. A high level of PSMU significantly increased the level of depression but the level of depression did not significantly affect the level of PSMU. A high level of PG significantly increased the level of anxiety, but the level of anxiety did not significantly affect the level of PG. A high level of depression significantly increased the level of PG, but the level of depression did not significantly affect the level of PG.
Conclusion
The patterns of the causal relationship between PIU and psychological distress variables differ. A reciprocal relationship was only found between the level of PSMU and the level of anxiety. Moreover, the longitudinal design found no differences in the waves in terms of gaming by the participants.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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