The effect of social anxiety on teenagers' internet addiction: the mediating role of loneliness and coping styles

• Published in: BMC psychiatry 2024-05, Vol.24 (1), p.395-10, Article 395
• Main Authors: Dong, Wanglin, Tang, Haishan, Wu, Sijia, Lu, Guangli, Shang, Yanqing, Chen, Chaoran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Addictions; Addictive behavior; Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Analysis; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Behavior; Behavior, Addictive - psychology; Care and treatment; China; Cognition & reasoning; College students; Communication; Coping; Coping (Psychology); Coping styles; Correlation analysis; Diagnosis; Female; Health aspects; High schools; Humans; Hypotheses; Internet; Internet Addiction Disorder - psychology; Junior high school students; Loneliness; Loneliness - psychology; Male; Mediation; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Pathological Internet Use; Prevention; Problem solving; Psychological aspects; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Social anxiety; Social aspects; Social interaction; Social networks; Social phobia; Social skills; Students - psychology; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Youth
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05854-5

There is a lack of understanding of how social anxiety may affect Internet addiction among adolescents. Based on several theories, the purpose of this study was to investigate the multiple mediating roles of loneliness and coping styles in the association between social anxiety and Internet addiction in Chinese adolescents. This study used the Social Anxiety Scale, Internet Addiction Test, Loneliness Scale, and Simple Coping Style Questionnaire to investigate 1188 students in two junior high schools and senior high schools in Henan Province, China. We adopted Pearson's correlation analysis and the PROCESS Macro Model 81 in regression analysis to explore the relationships among social anxiety, loneliness, coping styles, and Internet addiction. We found that social anxiety not only directly affects teenagers' Internet addiction, but also affects teenagers' Internet addiction through loneliness and coping styles. These results emphasize the importance of improving social anxiety to reduce Internet addiction among adolescents. At the same time, it also emphasizes the need to reduce adolescents' loneliness and cultivating positive coping styles. In addition, this study has certain theoretical significance for teenagers' mental health and intervention studies on Internet addiction.