Association Between Child Abuse Experience and Pathological Internet Use Among Chinese University Students: The Mediating Roles of Security and Maladaptive Cognitions

Abstract

Research has revealed that child abuse experience can increase pathological Internet use; however, few studies have focused on the influence of child abuse experience on pathological Internet use. This study examined the mediating roles of security and maladaptive cognitions in the association between child abuse and pathological Internet use. A total of 918 Chinese university students participated in the study, with measurements of child abuse, security, maladaptive cognitions, and pathological Internet use being employed. Structural equation modeling results indicated that child abuse could positively predict (i) pathological Internet use, (ii) pathological Internet use through the mediating role of security, (iii) pathological Internet use through the mediating role of maladaptive cognitions, and (iv) pathological Internet use through the chain mediating role of security and maladaptive cognitions. These results indicated that security and maladaptive cognitions were the primary factors in the association between child abuse and pathological Internet use.

Childhood trauma and problematic internet use: A meta-analysis based on students in mainland China

“…Based on 52,503 students in mainland China from 31 articles, the results of a meta-analysis showed that a moderate Holmanpositive correlation between CT and PIU, consistent with previous research results (Hou et al, 2021a;Qin et al, 2022;Zhang, 2022), it means that students who have experienced CT are more likely to suffer from PIU (Sharifi, 2019;Li, 2020). It supports the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model (Brand et al, 2016), according to this model, person's core characteristics, including biological genetic and further bio-psychological factors, are the predisposing factors for the formation of PIU.…”

“…Grade may also be a moderating variable affecting the relationship between CT and PIU. Some studies found that correlation between CT and PIU of college students was positively correlated to a low degree ( Wei, 2014 ), while other studies found that correlation between CT and PIU of college students was positively correlated to a moderate degree ( Qin et al, 2022 ). In the survey of middle school students, some studies found that there was a low positive correlation between CT and PIU ( Zhang S. J., 2020 ), while others found that there was a moderate positive correlation between CT and PIU ( Du, 2020 ).…”

The Association Between Child Abuse and Internet Addiction: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

“…Moreover, child abuse has brought a lot of adverse effects on individual physical and mental health and subsequent development (Rodriguez et al, 2021). Previous studies have shown that child abuse is related to Internet addiction (Peng et al, 2021a(Peng et al, , 2021bQin et al, 2022;. However, meta-analysis conducting to synthesize their findings was not available.…”

“…Many studies have confirmed that child abuse is significantly positively correlated with Internet addiction (Qin et al, 2022;. However, some studies failed to find such association (Hou et al, 2021).…”

“…It is necessary to study the risk factors of Internet addiction due to the diverse and serious harm. It is worth noting that child abuse may be a risk factor for Internet addiction (Qin et al, 2022; Sheng et al, 2022). Child abuse, an important issue in the worldwide, refers to any form of psychological/or physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent handling, or commercial or other exploitation, leading to actual or potential harm to the health survival, development or dignity of the child in the situation of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power (Alazri & Hanna, 2020 Gubbels et al, 2021; Zhang, Ma et al 2022).…”