Associations of emotional and behavioral problems with Internet use among Chinese young adults: the role of academic performance

Highlights

• The four difficulties were positively associated with problematic Internet use (PIU) and Internet use time.

• Prosocial behavior was significantly associated with a decreased risk of PIU and Internet use time.

• Associations in poor academic performers were stronger than in corresponding groups.

Abstract

Background

: To investigate the independent association between different types of emotional and behavioral problems and Internet use (i.e., Internet use time and problematic Internet use [PIU]) among Chinese young adults, and to test whether these associations vary by academic performance.

Methods

: Data was drawn from the 2019 National School-based Chinese Adolescents Health Survey, and 30,581 undergraduates (mean age: 19.9 [SD: 1.6] years) completed standard questionnaires qualifiedly. Daily hours of Internet use, PIU, emotional and behavioral problems, and academic performance were measured.

Results

: After adjusting for control variables and academic performance, students who reported having emotional problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.14, 95% CI=0.12~0.15; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.82, 95% CI=1.77~1.89), conduct problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.12, 95% CI=0.09~0.15; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.76, 95% CI=1.67~1.84), hyperactivity (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.08, 95% CI=0.06~0.12; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=1.46, 95% CI=1.38~1.54), and peer problems (daily hours: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.03, 95% CI=0.002~0.05; PIU: adjusted unstandardized β estimate=0.53, 95% CI=0.44~0.62) were more likely to engaged in prolonged daily Internet use and PIU. In contrast, prosocial behavior was negatively associated with Internet use time and PIU. Stratified analyses showed that some of the associations in poor academic performers were stronger than in students with good and average academic performance.

Limitations

: The cross-sectional design limited the ability to make causal inferences.

Conclusions

:The findings suggest that the efforts to prevent abnormal Internet use should be focused on students with emotional and behavioral problems or poor academic performance.

Introduction

The use of Internet has become an integral part of contemporary life worldwide and has increased considerably over the past few decades (Internet Live Stats, 2015). Evidence suggests that appropriate Internet use is beneficial. However, uncontrolled or compulsive Internet use may have adverse effects such as causing severe maladaptive problems, in which the misuse of the Internet may lead to “problem Internet use (PIU)” or “Internet addiction” (Kuss and Lopez-Fernandez, 2016). Considering that a majority of undergraduates are in late adolescence and early adulthood (also can be termed as young adults), which is characterized as a period with multiple tremendous transitions (Nelson et al., 2007), they are more vulnerable to be engaged in health-risk behaviors, including emotional and behavioral problems, and a prolonged Internet use time or even PIU. Indeed, Internet use is one of the most popular academic and recreational activities among undergraduates (Apuke and Iyendo, 2018), and previous evidence suggests that 8~13% of undergraduates may be addicted to the Internet (Alavi et al., 2012). The longer hours of Internet use or PIU has become a growing public health problem, and Chinese young adults are no exception. A previous study reported that 12% young adults in Macau were classified as problematic Internet users (Wu et al., 2013), and a recent study reported that 26.7% of Chinese young adults were Internet dependents (Geng et al., 2018).

Although Internet use is a complex problem, emotional and behavioral problems are reported to be associated with prolonged Internet use time and PIU. Emotional and behavioral problems are prevalent among young adults, and these problems appeared to be elevating in number and severity (Hunt and Eisenberg, 2010). According to the theory proposed by Davis, emotional and behavioral problems may play a role as a distal cause of prolonged Internet use time and PIU. It might be related to that individuals with emotional and behavioral problems might fail in social engagement, which turns out to increase their preference for online social interaction instead of face-to-face communication (Davis, 2001). Moreover, several studies are indicating that there were significant associations of emotional symptoms (Sasmaz et al., 2014), hostility/aggression (Andrade et al., 2020), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with PIU. Moreover, considering the educational use of the Internet is prevalent among the majority of the undergraduates in recent years (Apuke and Iyendo, 2018), long time use of the Internet was not wholly consistent with PIU. However, there is a paucity of studies on the effects of different types of emotional and behavioral problems on Internet use (including both Internet use time and PIU) among young adults. Current knowledge surrounding the associations of emotional and behavioral problems with Internet use is predominantly derived from Western countries and adolescents or adults (Kumar et al., 2019; Rosenkranz et al., 2017), with only a few studies performed among young adults in China (Hou et al., 2019).

Additionally, it has also been reported that prolonged Internet use or PIU can have negative influences on cognitive functions and academic performance (Azizi et al., 2019; Firth et al., 2019). Prior studies have demonstrated that poor academic performance was more common among students involved in longer hours of Internet use for leisure and PIU (Azizi et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2017). Despite evidence suggesting Internet use and academic performance being correlated, few studies have been undertaken to investigate the role of academic performance in the effects of emotional and behavioral problems on Internet use. However, this is particularly important in Chinese populations where there is a dearth of related research despite China's cultural context, which demonstrates highly valued education and serious academic competition (Zhao et al., 2015). Therefore, we conducted this large-scale study to test the independent associations between different types of emotional and behavioral problems and Internet use (i.e., Internet use time and PIU) among Chinese young adults, and to test the moderating role of academic performance in the afore-mentioned associations.