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Relationship between peer victimization and adolescent internet addiction: self-esteem as a mediator and
Yujie Wang1, Cheng Sun1, Honglin Wu1
1Fourth Clinical Medical College, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Background:
Adolescent Internet addiction (IA) has emerged as a significant mental health concern. Peer victimization (PV) is a prevalent risk factor in school settings, necessitating further examination of its impact mechanism on IA. There is a notable gap in systematic exploration of the interaction between individual traits, such as self-esteem (SE), and environmental resources in shaping IA.
Purpose:
This study explores the relationship between PV and adolescent IA, elucidates the mediating role of self-esteem (SE), and assesses the moderating influence of the teacher-student relationship (TSR). A moderated mediation model is established to uncover the mechanisms linked to the emergence of IA.
Methods:
An opportunity sampling method was employed to select 1,162 students from six high schools in Jiangsu Province, China. Data were gathered utilizing the Multi-Dimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Teacher-Student Relationship Scale (TSRS), and the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale-Revised (CIAS-R). Correlation analysis, Bootstrap mediation testing, and moderated mediation effect analysis were employed for statistical analysis.
Results:
PV significantly and positively predicted adolescent IA (r = 0.288, p < 0.001). SE partially mediated the relationship between PV and IA, accounting for 33.5% of the total effect (effect value = 0.336, 95% CI [0.251, 0.424]). TSRs significantly moderated the first half of the mediation path (PV × TSR: β = -0.018, p < 0.001) and the direct effect of PV on IA (β = 0.014, p < 0.05). A positive TSR significantly buffered the negative impact of PV on SE and the promoting effect of PV on IA compared to a poor TSR.
Conclusion:
PV indirectly positively associates with the risk of IA by negatively linking with adolescents' SE, whereas positive TSR can effectively mitigate this detrimental pathway. This study's findings establish a theoretical framework for creating targeted intervention strategies for adolescent IA, indicating that schools can alleviate the adverse effects of PV by improving SE levels and reinforcing the teacher-student support system. For example, schools could regularly conduct extracurricular activities that promote high SE, offer counseling services for students with low SE, and implement teacher training focused on improving TSR.
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