Associations of Personality Traits with Internet Addiction: A Cross-Cultural Meta-Analysis with a Multilingual Approach

Associations between personality and problematic internet use among Chinese adolescents and young adults: A network analysis

BACKGROUND

With the number of internet users booming, problematic internet use (PIU) has become a public health threat. This study aims to figure out the inter-relationships between PIU symptoms and personality traits with network-based analysis among young people and to discuss the gender difference in the above networks.

METHODS

Based on a national cross-sectional study in 2022, 4655 Chinese adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 25 were included. We adopted the 6-item Short-Form Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ-SF-6) and the 10-item version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10) to measure PIU and personality traits, respectively. Network analysis was used to identify influential nodes and edges and compare the network models between male and female participants.

RESULTS

The mean age of 4655 participants was 19.84, and 52.1 % (2424) of them were females. There are differences in age and gender between participants with and without PIU (P < 0.05). The network of personality and PIU showed that 22 out of the 28 edges were estimated to be nonzero, and "obsession-neuroticism" was the strongest positive edge between the two communities. Central symptoms (i.e., "obsession" and "control disorder") and bridge symptoms (i.e., "obsession" and "neuroticism") have been identified. Gender differences existed in network global strength: female = 3.71, male = 3.18 (p < 0.001).

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional study needs more evidence to build causal inference.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of PIU-personality networks may contribute to the personalized prevention and treatment of PIU. The gender difference in PIU-personality networks also requires more attention and discussion.

On the association between personality, fear of missing out (FoMO) and problematic social media use tendencies in European and Arabian samples

Recent meta-analytical evidence indicates a mild association between higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness scores and a tendency towards problematic social media use (PSMU). However, fear of missing out (FoMO) has emerged as a critical variable in understanding the positive link between neuroticism and PSMU. Given the replication crisis in psychology, this study aimed to reinvestigate personality-PSMU associations and, crucially, the less-studied FoMO mediation effect. To ensure generalizability of the findings, we recruited two diverse samples with European and Arabian backgrounds. The results revealed a significant total effect of neuroticism on PSMU for both cultural groups, with the European sample demonstrating a fully mediated effect via FoMO, whereas the Arab sample showed a partially mediated effect via FoMO, along with a significant direct effect. This study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the importance of FoMO as a mediator between neuroticism and PSMU and some minor potential cultural differences in this association.

The association of problematic usage of the internet with burnout, depression, insomnia, and quality of life among Hungarian high school students

Introduction

The extensive availability of the internet has led to the recognition of problematic usage of the internet (PUI) or so called internet addiction (IA), probably mostly involving adolescents.

Aim

Here we present a study focusing on the incidence and consequences (including burnout, which is relatively rarely studied) of internet addiction among high school students using a questionnaire-based non-random sampling cross-sectional survey. Included questionnaires were the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey for Students MBI-GS (S), the 9-item short version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-SF), the Athens Insomnia Questionnaire and the EQ-5D (quality of life) questionnaire. Data were evaluated the exertion of Student's t-test, chi square test and Pearson's rank-order correlation. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of the different parameters as independently associated with PUI.

Results

Overall 3,000 paper-based questionnaires were successfully delivered and 2,540 responses received (response rate of 84.6%). 1,309 males (mean age 17.6 ± 1.43 years) (51.5%) and 1,231 females (mean age 17.5 ± 1.4 years) (48.5%) took part in our study. Problematic usage of the internet was detected in 486 (19.1%) students (232 males, mean age 17.6 ± 1.35 years and 254 females, mean age 17.34 ± 1.37 years). In a logistic regression analysis sleep disturbance (OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.83-2.03), depression (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.77-2.02) and burnout (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.16-1.94) were significantly associated with PUI.

Conclusion

Nearly one fifth of our study population suffered from PUI, which was strongly associated with school burnout, insomnia and depression, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon.

Impact of the COVID-19 and psychological risk factors on non-suicidal self-injury behavior among high school students: a one-year follow-up study

OBJECTIVES

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is a severe public health issue in adolescents. This study investigated the possible impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and analyzed psychological risk factors on adolescent NSSI.

METHODS

A one-year follow-up study was conducted in September 2019 (Time 1) and September 2020 (Time 2) among 3588 high school students. The completed follow-up participants (N = 2527) were classified into no NSSI (negative at both time points), emerging NSSI (negative at Time 1 but positive at Time 2), and sustained NSSI (positive at both time points) subgroups according to their NSSI behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived family functioning, perceived school climate, negative life events, personality traits (neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control) were assessed using self-report scales.

RESULTS

The data indicated an increase (10.3%) in the incidence of NSSI. Compared to no NSSI subjects, the emerging NSSI and sustained NSSI subgroups had lower perceived family functioning, higher neuroticism, higher impulse-system but lower self-control scores, and more negative life events. Logistic regressions revealed that after controlling for demographics, neuroticism and impulse-system levels at Time 1 positively predicted emerging NSSI behavior, and similarly, higher neuroticism and impulsivity and lower self-control at Time 1 predicted sustained NSSI behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlighted the aggravated impact of the COVID-19 on NSSI, and suggested that individual neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control traits might be crucial for the development of NSSI behavior among adolescent students.

Exploring the links between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in internet addiction: A network analysis model

Alexithymia and emotion regulation are closely related to internet addiction. However, no research has examined how the different components of alexithymia are associated with cognitive emotion regulation in the context of multi-strategy use in internet addiction. The current study aimed to investigate the relation between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation in individuals with internet addiction via network analysis. Participants included 560 students with Young’s Internet Addiction Test scores greater than 50 points; they were also asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). The results revealed two bridge nodes emerging within the combined alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation network model: “catastrophizing” and “externally oriented thoughts.” These findings indicate a more specific relation between alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation and provide empirical evidence for targeted prevention and targeted interventions for internet addiction.

Rich Get Richer: Extraversion Statistically Predicts Reduced Internet Addiction through Less Online Anonymity Preference and Extraversion Compensation

Internet addiction may arise from multiple factors and personality tendencies have been previously implicated. Prior studies have found that extraversion may be a protective factor mitigating against internet addiction, yielding a "rich-get-richer" effect. However, few studies have explored how extraversion may influence internet addiction from the perspective of online-offline integration. Drawing on a sample of 428 college students, the current study examined a serial mediation model exploring the underlying mechanisms of how extraversion may statistically predict internet addiction through online-offline integration and antecedent factors. The serial mediation model analyses indicated that extraverted internet users exhibited a weaker preference for online anonymity and less online extraversion compensation, thus formulating a higher level of online-offline integration than introverted individuals, which, in turn, appeared to reduce the risk of internet addiction. In contrast, with regard to specific components of online-offline integration, introverted internet users preferred online anonymity, which reduced their relationship integration and increased their likelihood of internet addiction; similarly, the introverted individuals were also more likely to exhibit an extraversion compensation effect. That is, they were more extraverted on the internet than in general; hence, they had a lower level of self-identity integration, resulting in a greater likelihood of experiencing internet addiction. These results highlight the importance of online-offline integration that may account for personality variations in social and psychological outcomes related to internet use, and suggest a role for online anonymity preference and extraversion compensation in influencing specific components of integration.

Personality traits and college students' internet addiction: The mediating roles of general health and self-esteem

This research aimed to explore the gender-related differences in Internet addiction levels, the associated factors behind Internet addiction, and the mediating roles of general health and self-esteem in the relationship between personality traits and Internet addiction among college students. A total of 318 college students in Iran participating in this study completed sociodemographic information form and self-report measures of Internet addiction, personality traits, general health, and self-esteem. The results showed higher frequencies of low and moderate-severe levels of addiction among female and male students, respectively. Further, younger age, male gender, singleness, high scores on neuroticism, poor general health, and low self-esteem might be linked to Internet addiction. The overall hypothesis that general health and self-esteem mediated the effect of neuroticism on Internet addiction was also supported. Our findings highlighted the necessity of evaluating general health and self-esteem among Internet-addicted students. Further, these variables can be targeted by psychiatrists and psychologists for effective cognitive-behavioral therapy among Internet-addicted students.