The longitudinal relationship between loneliness and both social anxiety and mobile phone addiction among rural left‐behind children: A cross‐lagged panel analysis

Abstract

IntroductionLeft‐behind children are a special group that needs urgent attention. Due to enduring separation from their parents, loneliness is considered the most common and prevalent developmental hurdle in the experiences of left‐behind children. This longitudinal cross‐lagged study examined the direction of the association between loneliness and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, with considering gender and left‐behind status differences.MethodsA total of 1175 rural Chinese children (48.3% boys, 39.9% left‐behind children, Mage = 14.54 ± 1.18 at baseline) completed self‐reported loneliness, social anxiety, and mobile phone addiction at two‐time points with 6 months intervals. Descriptive statistics, cross‐lagged panel analysis, and multiple group analysis were estimated in the present study.ResultsLoneliness exacerbated social anxiety and mobile phone addiction, and vice versa. In addition, gender and left‐behind status moderated these relationships, with boys more likely to be mobile phone addicted due to loneliness and girls more likely to be lonely due to mobile phone addiction. More importantly, left‐behind children with loneliness are more prone to social anxiety and mobile phone addiction, and vice versa, compared with non‐left‐behind children.ConclusionsThe targeted interventions should be carried out for different genders and left‐behind statuses. Particularly for left‐behind children, neglecting to address both the symptoms of loneliness and both social anxiety and mobile phone addiction could significantly undermine the efficacy of intervention programs that solely target either one of these afflictions.

The Association Between Loneliness, Social Anxiety, and Gaming Addiction in Male University Students

“…In a study on the anticipated role of psychiatric symptoms in the development of addiction related to the internet, internet addiction was predicted by depression, social anxiety, anger, and ADHD (Carras et al, 2020). Similarly, social anxiety and loneliness are reported as significant contributors to internet addiction and vice versa (Wang, 2021;Wu et al, 2024). The duration of playing games is also important as it increases social anxiety and significantly deteriorates the quality of interpersonal relationships (Darvesh et al, 2020).…”

“…Social anxiety can create excessive mental distress and disrupt social associations leading to loneliness, therefore they may resort to increased gaming as a coping method (Dong et al, 2024). Similarly, loneliness can exacerbate feelings of loneliness, leading teens to engage in excessive gaming to find social connections (Wu et al, 2024). The I-PACE model emphasizes how these connected elements interact, potentially increasing the risk of gaming addiction in male university students by providing valuable insight into the intricate interplay of psychological processes at gaming (Brand et al, 2016).…”