The Relationship Between Children's Problematic Internet-related Behaviors and Psychological Distress During the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Background: The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has generated negative effects on psychological wellbeing worldwide, including in schoolchildren. Government requirements to stay at home and avoid social and school settings may impact psychological well-being by modifying various behaviors such as problematic phone and Internet use, yet there is a paucity of research on this issue. This study examined whether the COVID-19 outbreak may have impacted problematic smartphone use (PSU), problematic gaming (PG), and psychological distress, specifically the pattern of relationships between PSU, PG, and psychological distress in schoolchildren. Methods: Longitudinal data on psychological distress, PSU, and PG were collected from 575 children in primary schools in 3 waves: Waves 1 and 2 were conducted before the COVID-19 outbreak and Wave 3 during the outbreak. Cross-lagged panel models were used to examine relationships between factors across the 3 waves. Results: Cross-lagged models found that higher levels of PSU were not significantly related prospectively to greater psychological distress before the COVID-19 outbreak, but this prospective relationship became significant during the COVID-19 outbreak. Whereas PG was associated prospectively with psychological distress before the COVID-19 outbreak (ie, between Waves 1 and 2), this association became nonsignificant during the COVID-19 lockdown (ie, between Waves 2 and 3). Conclusions: The COVID-19 outbreak has seemed to change prospective relationships between PSU and psychological distress and PG and psychological distress in schoolchildren. Future research should examine whether restrictions on or information provided to schoolchildren may exacerbate PSUs effects on psychological distress.

Internet addiction and psychological distress among Chinese schoolchildren before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: A latent class analysis

“…The 0-10 Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess the worry concerning COVID-19 infection among the schoolchildren. Although there are criticisms regarding the use of a single item instead of using multiple items to capture an underlying concept (Fisher, Matthews, & Gibbons, 2016), the use of the single VAS item to assess the worry was recently validated in prior research on schoolchildren (Chen, Chen, Hou, et al, 2021). More specifically, the general consensus is that using multiple items to assess an underlying concept can have better psychometric properties than using a single item.…”

“…It also examined the associations between changes in problematic internet use across the three pandemic stages and COVID-19-related psychological distress during the COVID-19 recovery stage among schoolchildren. According to prior evidence regarding positive associations between problematic internet use and psychological distress Chen, Chen, Hou, et al, 2021;, the present study hypothesized that (i) the group with higher level of problematic internet use would have greater psychological distress across different stages of COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) changes of problematic internet use would be associated with COVID-19-related psychological distress. Aside from the hypotheses, the present study explored the trajectory of PSU, PSMU, and PG across three stages of COVID-19 outbreak (i.e., before the COVID-19 outbreak, during the outbreak, and during recovery) given that there is no relevant evidence currently.…”

“…Prior evidence has shown positive significant relationships between problematic internet use and psychological distress in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. More specifically, greater problematic internet use is associated with increased concurrent psychological distress or in the future (Chen, Chen, Hou, et al, 2021;. Further investigations are therefore needed to examine the relationship between problematic internet use and psychological distress across different stages of COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Problematic Use of Internet-Related Activities and Perceived Weight Stigma in Schoolchildren: A Longitudinal Study Across Different Epidemic Periods of COVID-19 in China

“…PSU and PSMU among children have been of concern to clinicians and policy makers because of their purported association with children's psychological health, although the model of compensatory internet use suggests a continuum for smartphone and social media use (i.e., from non-problematic to problematic) (15). Indeed, several studies have suggested that PSU and PSMU are associated with greater depression, anxiety, and stress (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). The social distancing and school suspensions due to COVID-19 could possibly lead to undesirable lifestyle changes.…”

Changes in youth mental health, psychological wellbeing, and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review

“…The majority of the publications (76%) indicated heightened anxiety during the pandemic. Among the 21 longitudinal studies, 16 reported higher levels of anxiety (Breaux et al, 2021;C. Y. Chen et al, 2021;Conti et al, 2020;Elmer et al, 2020;Evans et al, 2021;Hawes, Szenczy, Olino, et al, 2021;Huckins et al, 2020;Knowles & Olatunji, 2021;S.…”