This study aims to investigate the relationship between empathy, social self-efficacy, problematic Internet use (PIU), and problematic online gaming (POG) and to evaluate how such relationship varies according to the age of the participants. A sample of 1,585 Italian students, both genders, aged 12–20 years, were divided into three groups according to the age filled in these self-report questionnaires: PIU; Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents; Interpersonal Reactivity Index; Scale of Social Self-Efficacy; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results allow to confirm that in the Italian context the relationships between the examined constructs change across the three age groups considered in the study. PIU and POG, as well as prosocial behaviors and personal distress, tend to significantly decrease in late adolescence (age 18–20 years); 15–17 years adolescents reported more empathic concern compared with the other groups. PIU and POG are affected by empathy and social-self efficacy in different ways depending on age, suggesting that the two conditions have an at least partially different nature. The different components of empathy seem to play a different role in the development of either PIU or POG confirming the need to separate the components of empathy.

中文翻译：

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同理心、社交自我效能感、有问题的互联网使用和有问题的青春期早期和晚期的在线游戏

本研究旨在调查同理心、社交自我效能感、有问题的互联网使用 (PIU) 和有问题的在线游戏 (POG) 之间的关系，并评估这种关系如何根据参与者的年龄而变化。根据填写这些自我报告问卷的年龄，将 1,585 名 12-20 岁的意大利学生样本分为三组：PIU；青少年游戏成瘾量表；人际反应指数；社会自我效能感量表；优势和困难问卷。结果可以证实，在意大利语境中，研究结构之间的关系在研究中考虑的三个年龄组之间发生了变化。PIU 和 POG，以及亲社会行为和个人痛苦，在青春期后期（18-20 岁）往往会显着减少；与其他组相比，15-17 岁的青少年报告了更多的共情关注。PIU 和 POG 受同理心和社会自我效能的影响取决于年龄，这表明这两种情况至少具有部分不同的性质。同理心的不同组成部分似乎在 PIU 或 POG 的发展中扮演着不同的角色，这证实了将同理心的组成部分分开的必要性。