The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy
BackgroundIn China, emotional abuse and Internet addiction are increasingly prevalent among children, with significant negative effects on their development. Previous research has identified childhood emotional abuse as a major risk factor for Internet addiction in both adolescents and adults. Howev...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517489/full |
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| author | Wang Liu Wang Liu Jie Huang Jie Huang Yu-Ling Li Yu-Ling Li Xiang Gao Xiang Gao Zi-Yi Xu Zi-Yi Xu Yong-Hui Li Yong-Hui Li |
| author_facet | Wang Liu Wang Liu Jie Huang Jie Huang Yu-Ling Li Yu-Ling Li Xiang Gao Xiang Gao Zi-Yi Xu Zi-Yi Xu Yong-Hui Li Yong-Hui Li |
| author_sort | Wang Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundIn China, emotional abuse and Internet addiction are increasingly prevalent among children, with significant negative effects on their development. Previous research has identified childhood emotional abuse as a major risk factor for Internet addiction in both adolescents and adults. However, the immediate impact of emotional abuse on children’s Internet addiction within Chinese culture remains unclear.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction through emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy in Chinese children.MethodsA sample of 556 fourth to sixth grade primary school students (girls, 46.6%) with an average age of 10.30 ± 0.93 years were recruited from a central province in China. Participants completed the paper-and-pencil survey on emotional abuse, emotional dysregulation, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and Internet addiction. The hypothesized model was tested using Mplus 8.3 with 5,000 bootstrap samples.ResultsEmotional abuse positively predicts Internet addiction in children; emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy mediate this relationship independently, and have chain-mediating effects in this relationship.ConclusionEmotional abuse impacts children’s Internet addiction through the development of emotional regulation and self-perception of their abilities in emotional regulation. The findings offer potential strategies for preventing children’s Internet addiction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-01caf80d75b241ceb5af93090b50b3be |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-01caf80d75b241ceb5af93090b50b3be2025-02-05T07:32:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-02-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15174891517489The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacyWang Liu0Wang Liu1Jie Huang2Jie Huang3Yu-Ling Li4Yu-Ling Li5Xiang Gao6Xiang Gao7Zi-Yi Xu8Zi-Yi Xu9Yong-Hui Li10Yong-Hui Li11Department of Psychology, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, ChinaHunan Key Laboratory of Children’s Psychological Development and Brain, Changsha, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, ChinaHunan Key Laboratory of Children’s Psychological Development and Brain, Changsha, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, ChinaHunan Key Laboratory of Children’s Psychological Development and Brain, Changsha, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, ChinaHunan Key Laboratory of Children’s Psychological Development and Brain, Changsha, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, Hunan First Normal University, Changsha, ChinaHunan Key Laboratory of Children’s Psychological Development and Brain, Changsha, ChinaKey Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaBackgroundIn China, emotional abuse and Internet addiction are increasingly prevalent among children, with significant negative effects on their development. Previous research has identified childhood emotional abuse as a major risk factor for Internet addiction in both adolescents and adults. However, the immediate impact of emotional abuse on children’s Internet addiction within Chinese culture remains unclear.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction through emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy in Chinese children.MethodsA sample of 556 fourth to sixth grade primary school students (girls, 46.6%) with an average age of 10.30 ± 0.93 years were recruited from a central province in China. Participants completed the paper-and-pencil survey on emotional abuse, emotional dysregulation, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and Internet addiction. The hypothesized model was tested using Mplus 8.3 with 5,000 bootstrap samples.ResultsEmotional abuse positively predicts Internet addiction in children; emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy mediate this relationship independently, and have chain-mediating effects in this relationship.ConclusionEmotional abuse impacts children’s Internet addiction through the development of emotional regulation and self-perception of their abilities in emotional regulation. The findings offer potential strategies for preventing children’s Internet addiction.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517489/fullemotional abuseInternet addictionemotional dysregulationregulatory emotional self-efficacyemotional terrorizingemotional neglect |
| spellingShingle | Wang Liu Wang Liu Jie Huang Jie Huang Yu-Ling Li Yu-Ling Li Xiang Gao Xiang Gao Zi-Yi Xu Zi-Yi Xu Yong-Hui Li Yong-Hui Li The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy Frontiers in Psychology emotional abuse Internet addiction emotional dysregulation regulatory emotional self-efficacy emotional terrorizing emotional neglect |
| title | The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy |
| title_full | The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy |
| title_fullStr | The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy |
| title_short | The impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction in Chinese children: the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy |
| title_sort | impact of emotional abuse on internet addiction in chinese children the sequential mediation roles of emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self efficacy |
| topic | emotional abuse Internet addiction emotional dysregulation regulatory emotional self-efficacy emotional terrorizing emotional neglect |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517489/full |
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