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Developmental Trajectories of Adolescent Internet Addiction: Interpersonal Predictors and Adjustment Outcomes

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Abstract

Despite the burgeoning literature on adolescent internet addiction (IA), the majority of studies have relied on cross-sectional designs and variable-centered analytical approaches. Therefore, little is understood about the heterogeneous developmental trajectories of adolescent IA as well as its antecedents and outcomes. This longitudinal study adopted growth mixture modeling (GMM), a person-centered approach, to identify the distinct trajectories of IA among adolescents during a three-year period. We further examined the interpersonal predictors along with a series of outcomes of different trajectories. Participants included 1,365 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.68 years, SD = 1.56; 46.8% girls) from two junior high schools and two senior high schools. The GMM results indicated three distinct trajectories: low-increasing (56.7%), moderate-declining (37.6%), and high-declining (5.7%) groups. In terms of interpersonal predictors, adolescents who reported poorer relationships with their parents, teachers, and schoolmates were more likely to belong to the high-declining and moderate-declining groups. In terms of outcomes, the high-declining and moderate-declining groups exhibited an increase in mental health problems (i.e., more depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, and lower subjective well-being) and delinquent behaviors, even after controlling for their baseline levels. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of IA trajectories among adolescents, the predictive role of interpersonal factors, and different adjustment outcomes associated with IA trajectories. Therefore, prevention and intervention programs involving interpersonal relationships may be promising for adolescents at high or moderate risk of IA.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Education Sciences Planning project for young scholars of China (No. CBA140145).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, 430079, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Pan Huang, Dongping Li & Yuxiao Liu

  2. Department of Psychology, Henan University, Henan, 475004, Kaifeng, China

    Yueyue Zhou

  3. Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, 100101, Beijing, China

    Jichao Jia & Jiale Xiao

  4. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Cortland, NY, 13045, Cortland, USA

    Haiyan Zhang

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Huang, P., Zhou, Y., Li, D. et al. Developmental Trajectories of Adolescent Internet Addiction: Interpersonal Predictors and Adjustment Outcomes. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 51, 355–367 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-022-00987-1

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