Evaluating a cross-lagged panel model between problematic internet use and psychological distress and cross-level mediation of school administrator support on problematic internet use: The serial mediating role of psychological needs thwarting of online teaching and psychological distress

Psychological Balances in the Digital World: Dynamic Relationships Among Social Media Addiction, Depression, Anxiety, Academic Self-Efficacy, General Belongingness, and Life Satisfaction

In the present era, the rapidly growing social media trends of the digital age have the potential to affect the psychological well-being of individuals. In this context, understanding how Social Media Addiction (SMA) interacts with various factors is important to understanding its potential impact on individuals' psychosocial health. In particular, the prevalence of SMA and its strong relationship with important variables such as anxiety, depression, stress, academic self-efficacy, general belongingness, and life satisfaction have received considerable attention from researchers and the society. This research aims to address the relationship between SMA and these variables in a holistic manner. The research further explored the relationship between life satisfaction and depression, anxiety, academic self-efficacy, and general belongingness. The research is based on a study conducted with 616 students (388 female and 228 male; 17-32 age range) at a state university in the Southeast of Turkey. Personal information form, Smartphone Addiction Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, General Belongingness Scale, and Life Satisfaction Scale were used as data collection tools. Using a structural equation modeling approach, the research not only examined the significant relationships but also examined the mediating and moderating effects in more detail. According to the research results, SMA significantly affects academic self-efficacy, general belongingness, depression, stress and anxiety. Academic self-efficacy and general belongingness both impact life satisfaction. However, SMA does not have a significant effect on life satisfaction. Moreover, it is revealed general belongingness play effective roles in the relationship between SMA and life satisfaction. As a result of the research, it was revealed that gender plays a moderating role in the relationship between SMA and life satisfaction. It has been observed that gender has a moderating role in the relationships between academic self-efficacy, general belongingness, depression, anxiety and stress and life satisfaction. Conversely, there is no moderating influence of gender on the impact of SMA on academic self-efficacy, general belongingness, depression, anxiety, or stress. Consequently, the relationships between SMA and other variables play an important role in understanding their effects on individuals' mental health.

The relationship between problematic internet use and psychological distress in older Chinese teachers (40+) during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: three cross-sectional studies

Background

Despite a consensus on the negative implications of problematic internet use (PIU) for mental health, there is a notable gap in research concerning older demographics, particularly older teachers. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PIU and its impact on the mental wellbeing of this population.

Methods

Three sub-studies were conducted: Study 1 (2020) investigated how fear induced by COVID-19 influenced PIU and psychological distress among 3,929 older teachers. Study 2 (2021) examined the effects of PIU on psychological needs thwarting (the frustration of basic psychological needs) and psychological distress, involving 3,502 participants. Study 3 (2022) explored the impact of PIU on occupational burnout and psychological distress, with 1,276 participants. The Generalized Linear Model in Jamovi 2.3.23 was used to evaluate the three mediation models.

Results

The three sub-studies revealed a high prevalence of PIU among older teachers (27.4% in Study 1, 27.4% in Study 2, and 24.5% in Study 3). High levels of PIU were associated with elevated psychological distress during the 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, fear of COVID-19 indirectly influenced psychological distress through PIU as a mediator. In Studies 2 and 3, respectively, psychological needs thwarting and occupational burnout mediated the relationship between PIU and psychological distress.

Conclusion

This study confirmed the high prevalence of PIU among older school teachers and the detrimental effect of PIU on psychological needs thwarting, occupational burnout, and psychological distress. Given these findings, education authorities and school management should take proactive steps to mitigate PIU and ensure the health and wellbeing of older teachers.

Exploring the relationship between problematic social networking sites use and depression: A longitudinal study

The association between problematic social networking sites use and depression is established, yet the directionality remains to be clarified. This longitudinal study investigated the causal dynamics between the two phenomena by administering a questionnaire to 191 college students from a university in Shandong Province, China, across four assessment points with an interlude of four weeks. The study found that the impact of depression on problematic social networking sites use is not consistently sustained throughout the academic semester. Initially, this impact reached significance, but it waned and ceased to be significant during the mid- and late-semester phases. These findings allude to the possibility that depression acts as a significant precursor to problematic social networking sites use. However, the interaction between them appears to be subject to temporal and contextual shifts. Consequently, interventions tackling problematic social networking sites use should progressively pivot from moderating screen time and social media engagement towards enhancing emotional robustness.

Effects of psychological need thwarting during COVID-19 remote instruction on Chinese, math, and EFL teachers' well-being and online teaching intentions

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic's "Great Online Transition" significantly impacted teachers. Existing research on Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) lacks longitudinal designs and consideration of subject-specific contexts. This study, using the Stressor-Strain-Outcome framework, investigates psychological needs thwarting (PNT) during ERT on teachers' well-being and online teaching intentions, considering subject of instruction as a potential factor.

METHODS

Data were collected from 1,369 Chinese primary and middle school teachers of Chinese literature, mathematics, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at two time points: two weeks after ERT implementation (Time 1, mid-November 2021) and two months later, after returning to face-to-face teaching (Time 2, mid-January 2022). PNT, emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, and intention towards online teaching were evaluated.

RESULTS

Among the types of PNT, competence thwarting emerged as the strongest predictor of emotional exhaustion, which was, in turn, associated with reduced online teaching intention and increased psychological distress. EFL teachers showed stronger associations between PNT, emotional exhaustion, and adverse outcomes, indicating higher susceptibility to strain during ERT.

CONCLUSION

Subject of instruction, particularly for EFL teachers, significantly influences the relationship between PNT and teacher outcomes during ERT. Our findings underscore the need for subject-specific support strategies in online teaching environments.

Confounding analysis with gaming aspects in predicting psychological distress of esports players

This research aimed to explore the interplay between the central and peripheral aspects of gaming and their correlation with internet gaming disorder (IGD) in predicting indicators of psychological distress. The study proposed that the core and peripheral characteristics of gaming serve as confounding variables affecting the direct relationship between IGD and psychological distress. Employing a longitudinal design spanning two distinct timeframes, the research involved 100 esports players from Malaysia, all of whom had participated in at least one official tournament. The outcomes revealed that both the core and peripheral attributes of gaming significantly predicted stress, anxiety, and depression. However, IGD exhibited a significant predictive association only with stress. Notably, the study also detected the confounding effects of core and peripheral characteristics in the direct link between IGD and stress. These results imply that core and peripheral gaming traits should be interpreted as individual differences that amplify susceptibility to IGD and its associated psychological distress indicators. Moreover, the findings suggested that IGD might not be a prominent concern for esports players, potentially due to their training in performance management as athletes. The paper explores further implications stemming from these findings.

Latent profile analysis of psychological needs thwarting in Chinese school teachers: longitudinal associations with problematic smartphone use, psychological distress, and perceived administrative support

Introduction

In light of the significant impact that teachers have on education quality and student growth, their mental health warrants special attention. With the increasing popularity of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the rise of online teaching during the pandemic, teachers have become a group prone to developing problematic smartphone use (PSU). Psychological need thwarting (PNT) has been shown to be closely related to PSU, psychological distress, and perceived administrative support. However, most previous studies have adopted a variable-centered approach, which may overlook the possibility that the three basic needs are not closely associated and could form distinct profiles. Therefore, this study aims to apply latent profile analysis to identify different PNT profiles and their associations with PSU, psychological distress, and perceived administrative support.

Methods

A longitudinal survey was conducted using convenience and purposive sampling methods. The survey involved 1,642 primary and middle school teachers working in China over a two-month interval, with the first assessment in November 2021 (Time 1) and the second in January 2022 (Time 2).

Results

The results indicate that a three-profile model, intricately based on the PNT data gathered at Time 1, is most optimal: Class 1 is labeled as 'High autonomy-High competence and Moderate relatedness thwarting', Class 2 as 'High autonomy-High competence and High relatedness thwarting', and Class 3 as 'Low psychological needs thwarting'. Distinct associations were observed among the three profiles concerning PSU, psychological distress, and perceived administrative support. Specifically, in terms of PSU, the score of Class 2 was higher than Class 1, with that of Class 3 being the lowest at Time 1, while at Time 2 no significant difference was found between any two of these three groups; in terms of distress, the scores of the three profiles were arranged from high to low as Class 2, 1, and 3 at both time points; and in terms of perceived administrative support, the order was just the opposite, with 3, 1, and 2 from high to low at both Time 1 and Time 2.

Conclusion

Notably, the consistent ranking of the three classes in terms of psychological distress and administrative support suggests a lasting influence of PNT. Future studies should explore this enduring impact further by employing additional longitudinal data sets and examining potential mediators or moderators beyond the current study's scope.

Problematic Gaming during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

The COVID-19 pandemic led to government measures enforcing isolation in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. Consequently, online activities, including gaming, increased during this challenging period. Thus, it was possible that problematic gaming (PG) patterns also increased. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we estimated the prevalence of PG during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined differences among subpopulations. The evaluation of 38 studies revealed that the overall prevalence of PG during the COVID-19 pandemic was 3.6%. Furthermore, higher PG scores were found in undergraduate and gamer subpopulations, as well as in studies using the Gaming Addiction Scale. Finally, meta-regression analyses suggest that stricter government measures, as identified by the Government Stringency Index, may have contributed to a lower prevalence of PG behaviors. A potential explanation of this finding is that containment measures had a protective function with respect to emotional distress, and thus towards PG; alternatively, it could be that current measures for PG become less precise if an individual's functioning is already impaired due to other reasons, such as COVID-19 restrictions. Further theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Problematic social media use and mental health risks among first-year Chinese undergraduates: a three-wave longitudinal study

Introduction

The association between social media use and mental health risks has been widely investigated over the past two decades with many cross-sectional studies reporting that problematic social media use (PSMU) is associated with higher mental health risk such as anxiety and depression. The present study examined the relationship between PSMU severity and mental health risks (depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness) using a three-wave longitudinal design.

Methods

A total of 685 first-year Chinese undergraduate students (Mean age = 19.12 years, SD = 0.92) completed surveys at three times points with intervals of 3 to 4 months. Results revealed that PSMU was positively correlated with all the mental health risk variables over the three time points.

Results

The prevalence of PSMU increased over the three research waves. Cross-lagged models identified bi-directional relationships between PSMU and mental health risks, while such links were not consistent between different mental health risk variables and can change over different research intervals.

Discussion

This study indicates that PSMU and mental health risks could predict each other in a vicious loop, but the differences between specific mental health risks and the research context (e.g., different term times and experiences in university) should not be ignored. Further research attention should be paid to the prevalence of PSMU and mental health conditions among Chinese first-year undergraduates who appear to have difficulties in adapting to university life.

Neuroticism and Adolescent Problematic Mobile Social Media Use: A Moderated Mediation Model

Although previous studies have confirmed the influence of neuroticism on problematic mobile social media use, mechanisms underlying this relation have not been well-understood. The present study investigated the mediating effect of self-control, as well as the moderating role of family socioeconomic status (FSES). A total of 1146 adolescents' data (Mage = 16.11, SDage = 0.97, 498 boys) were collected. Participants completed questionnaires about neuroticism, self-control, problematic mobile social media use, and FSES. The moderated mediation analysis showed that self-control mediated the positive association between neuroticism and problematic mobile social media use. In addition, FSES moderated the negative relation between self-control and problematic mobile social media use. Specifically, compared with adolescents in low FSES, the association between self-control and problematic mobile social media use was stronger for adolescents in high FSES. This study advanced our understanding of the development of problematic mobile social media use by revealing the potential mechanism between adolescent neuroticism and problematic mobile social media use.

Understanding Problematic Gaming During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Adolescents and Adults: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Objective

A growing body of evidence suggests that online gaming increased during the COVID-19 outbreak. This systematic review aims to summarize extant literature that reported on problematic gaming among both adolescents and adults during the pandemic and to identify available research on the bidirectional association between problematic gaming and mental health outcomes.

Method

A systematic search was carried out through PubMed, Web of Knowledge and AGRIS, Embase, Medline, PsychINFO (from January 2020 to January 2023), using keywords related to problematic gaming and mental health outcomes. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal empirical studies which used validated measures of problematic gaming and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic were included.

Results

Twenty-five empirical articles were eligible for the current review, comprising 28,978 participants. The majority of the selected studies had cross-sectional designs. Overall, most eligible studies showed significant association between problematic gaming and negative mental health outcomes during the pandemic. Correlations were mostly found between problematic gaming, depression and anxiety.

Conclusions

Future research focusing on the relationship between problematic gaming and mental health outcomes should go beyond the considerable weaknesses due to methodological limitations of cross-sectional design, sampling and measures.

The Psychometric Properties of the DASS-21 and Its Association with Problematic Internet Use among Chinese College Freshmen

During transitional periods, college freshmen may experience mental health issues. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21-item version (DASS-21) is commonly used for mental health assessment in China. However, evidence is lacking regarding its applicability with freshmen as a demographic. Debates also exist regarding its factor structure. This study aimed to evaluate the DASS-21's psychometric properties with Chinese college freshmen and investigate its association with three kinds of problematic Internet use. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit two samples of freshmen-one of 364 (female 248; mean age 18.17 years) and the other of 956 (female 499; mean age 18.38 years) participants. McDonald's ω and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to evaluate both the scale's internal reliability and construct validity. The results indicated acceptable reliability, with a one-factor structure inferior to a three-factor structure in terms of model fit. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that problematic Internet use was significantly and positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among Chinese college freshmen. Based on the prerequisite of measurement equivalence across two samples, the study also found that freshmen's problematic Internet use and psychological distress were likely to be affected by the strict measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.