Pathways from School Belonging to Problematic Online Game Use among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Symptoms and the Moderating Role of Physical Exercise

Abstract

Problematic online game use (POGU) causes various negative effects on adolescent development. Thus, it is necessary to explore the influential factors and mechanisms of adolescent POGU. The present study examined the relationship between school belonging and adolescent POGU and its mechanisms. A sample of 958 secondary vocational school students completed self-reported measures of school belonging, emotional symptoms, physical exercise, and POGU. The results showed that school belonging negatively predicted emotional symptoms (including depression, anxiety, and stress), which in turn positively predicted adolescent POGU. Besides, the moderating role of physical exercise in the relationship between school belonging and depression was significant, and the moderating role of physical exercise in the relationship between school belonging and anxiety was marginal but significant. The magnitudes of the above relationships were smaller as physical exercise increased. Results provide suggestions to reduce adolescent POGU by enhancing school belonging and decreasing emotional symptoms.

Keywords

school belonging POGU emotional symptoms physical exercise adolescents

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Antony

M. M.

Bieling

P. J.

Cox

B. J.

Enns

M. W.

Swinson

R. P.

(1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.10.2.176

Bergman

Trost

(2006). The person-oriented versus the variable-oriented approach: Are they complementary, opposites, or exploring different worlds? Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 52(3), 601–632. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.2006.0023

Billieux

King

D. L.

Higuchi

Achab

Bowden-Jones

Hao

Long

Lee

H. K.

Potenza

M. N.

Saunders

J. B.

(2017). Functional impairment matters in the screening and diagnosis of gaming disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6(3), 285–289. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.6.2017.036

Bronfenbrenner

(1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press.

Cheung

H. Y.

Hui

S. K. F.

(2003). Mainland immigrant and Hong Kong local students’ psychological sense of school membership. Asia Pacific Education Review, 4, 67–74. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ776353.pdf

China Internet Network Information Center. (2022). Report on Internet Usage among Minors Nationwide in 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.cnnic.cn/NMediaFile/2022/1201/MAIN1669871621762HOSKOXCEP1.pdf

Choi

Hums

M. A.

Bum

C. H.

(2018). Impact of the family environment on juvenile mental health: eSports online game addiction and delinquency. International Journal of Environmental Research, 15(12), Article 2850. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122850

Crandall

Powell

E. A.

Bradford

G. C.

Magnusson

B. M.

Hanson

C. L.

Barnes

M. D.

Novilla

M. L. B.

Bean

R. A.

(2020). Maslow’ s hierarchy of needs as a framework for understanding adolescent depressive symptoms over time. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(2), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01577-4

Davis

R. A.

(2001). A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 17(2), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0747-5632(00)00041-8

10.

Ding

Liu

(2022). The relationship between technoference and internet gaming disorder: The mediating role of the need to belong and the moderation role of friendship quality. Journal of Psychological Science, 45(6), 1383–1389. https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20220614

11.

Eccles

J. S.

Midgley

Wigfield

Buchanan

C. M.

Reuman

Flanagan

MacIver

(1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage–environment fit on adolescents’ experiences in schools and families. American Psychologist, 48, 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.2.90

12.

H. Y.

Wang

J. X.

(2023). Influence of physical education on anxiety, depression, and self-esteem among college students. World Journal of Psychiatry, 13(12), 1121–1132. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v13.i12.1121

13.

Gan

Jin

Zhu

Liu

(2021) Parenting styles, depressive symptoms, and problematic online game use in adolescents: A developmental cascades model. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, Article 710667. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.710667

14.

Genis

Ç.

Ayaz-Alkaya

. (2023). Digital game addiction, social anxiety, and parental attitudes in adolescents: A cross-sectional study. Children and Youth Services Review, 149, Article 106931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106931

15.

Gentile

D. A.

(2009). Pathological video-game use among youth ages 8 to 18: A national study. Psychological Science, 20(5), 594–602. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02340.x

16.

Gentile

D. A.

Choo

Liau

Sim

Fung

Khoo

(2011). Pathological video game use among youths: A two-year longitudinal study. Pediatrics, 127, 319–329. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1353

17.

Goodenow

(1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30(1), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807(199301)30:1<79::AID-PITS2310300113>3.0.CO;2-X

18.

Hayes

A. F.

(2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.

19.

Hsieh

H. F.

Zimmerman

M. A.

Xue

Bauermeister

J. A.

Caldwell

C. H.

Wang

Hou

(2014). Stress, active coping, and problem behaviors among Chinese adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(4), 364–376. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0099845

20.

Huang

Liu

Han

(2024). Using HLM and expert reviews to investigate the factors affecting teacher job satisfaction: A cross-cultural comparison between selected collectivistic and individualistic countries. Current Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06213-z

21.

Lan

C. M.

Lee

Y. H.

(2014). The predictors of Internet addiction behaviours for Taiwanese elementary school students. School Psychology International, 34(6), 648–657. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034313479690

22.

Lemmens

J. S.

Valkenburg

P. M.

Peter

(2011). The effects of pathological gaming on aggressive behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9558-x

23.

X. C.

Shek

D. T. L.

Shek

E. Y. W.

(2021). Psychological morbidity among university students in Hong Kong (2014–2018): Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) and related correlates. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, Article 8305. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168305

24.

X. C.

M. S.

(2020). Proactive health: From idea to model. China Sport Science, 40(02), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.16469/j.css.202002009

25.

Liang

(1994). Stress level and its relationship with physical exercise of college students. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 8(1), 5–6.

26.

Lin

Wang

Song

Zhang

. (2024). Physical activity and interpersonal adaptation in Chinese adolescents after COVID-19: The mediating roles of self-esteem and psychological resilience. Psychological Reports, 127(3), 1156–1174.. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221137233

27.

Liu

C. M.

Liu

Yuan

G. Z.

(2021). Associations between cyberbullying perpetration, sleep quality, and emotional distress among adolescents a two-wave cross-lagged analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 209(2), 123–127. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001267

28.

Liu

Q. X.

Fang

X. Y.

Wan

J. J.

Zhou

Z. K.

(2016). Need satisfaction and adolescent pathological internet use: Comparison of satisfaction perceived online and offline. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 695–700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.048

29.

Loton

Borkoles

Lubman

Polman

(2016). Video game addiction, engagement and symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety: The mediating role of coping. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 14(4), 565–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9578-6

30.

Lovibond

P. F.

Lovibond

S. H.

(1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U

31.

Melton

T. H.

Croarkin

P. E.

Strawn

J. R.

Mcclintock

S. M.

(2016). Comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents: A systematic review and analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 22(2), 84–98. https://doi.org/10.1097/PRA.0000000000000132

32.

Oyserman

Coon

H. M.

Kemmelmeier

(2002). Rethinking individualism and collectivism: Evaluation of theoretical assumptions and meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 128(1), 3–72. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.1.3

33.

Podsakoff

P. M.

Organ

D. W.

(1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531–544. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408

34.

Resnick

M. D.

Bearman

P. S.

Blum

R. W.

Bauman

K. E.

Harris

K. M.

Jones

Tabor

Beuhring

Sieving

R. E.

Shew

Ireland

Bearinger

L. H.

Udry

J. R.

(1997). Protecting adolescents from harm-findings from the national longitudinal study on adolescent health. JAMA, 278(10), 823–832. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.278.10.823

35.

Roh

H. J.

Kim

E. J.

Lee

K. Y.

Choi

J. W.

Bhang

S. Y.

(2024). Elucidating the impact of socioeconomic status on adolescent Internet Gaming Disorder using the Family Affluence Scale. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-024-01240-0

36.

Sahin

Gumus

Y. Y.

Dincel

(2016). Game addiction and academic achievement. Educational Psychology, 36(9), 1533–1543. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.972342

37.

Tas

Günes

(2019). Examination computer gaming addiction, alexithymia, social anxiety, age and gender among children aged 8–12. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi-Turkish Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 22(1), 83–92. https://doi.org/10.5505/kpd.2018.17894

38.

Tian

X. P.

Liu

X. W.

Xiao

Z. Q.

Lin

(2023) Undergraduates’ negative emotion and academic procrastination during COVID-19: Life autonomy as a mediator and sense of school belonging as a moderator. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 3151–3169. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S413738

39.

Wang

X. Z.

K. X.

(2023). Long-term effects of early adversity on the mental health of college students: The mitigating effect of physical exercise. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1102508. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1102508

40.

Wang

Y. H.

(2022). The impact of interparental conflicts on online game addiction symptomatology: The mediating roles of the parent-adolescent relationship and loneliness in adolescents. Psychological Reports, 125(5), 2337–2356. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211016751

41.

Wei

Zhang

(2016). Relationship between gratitude and problematic online game use among left-behind children: The mediating role of school belonging. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24(01), 134–138. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2016.01.031

42.

Yang

L. X.

Chen

Zhang

M. X.

Zhang

J. K.

(2022). Pathological online game use of secondary vocational school students: Current situation and its relation to self-esteem and self-identity. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, Article 937841. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.937841

43.

Zhang

(2015). Predicting adolescent problematic online game use from teacher autonomy support, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and school engagement: A 2-year longitudinal study. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 18(4), 228–233. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0385

44.

Zhai

B. Y.

D. P.

Liu

Y. X.

Zhang

J. Y.

Sun

W. Q.

Wang

Y. H.

(2020). Perceived school climate and problematic internet use among adolescents: Mediating roles of school belonging and depressive symptoms. Addictive Behaviors, 110, Article 106501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106501

45.

Zhang

Chen

Guo

(2022). The relationship between perceptions of school climate and internet gaming disorder of teenage students: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 917872. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.917872

46.

Zhang

X. Y.

S. Y.

Zhao

J. B.

J. M.

Xiao

(2007). Comparison of mental health state and psychological capacities between college students with and without siblings. Journal of Southern Medical University, 4, 482–484.

47.

Zou

H. Y.

Deng

Y. T.

Wang

H. H.

C. F.

Zhang

(2022). Perceptions of school climate and internet gaming addiction among Chinese adolescents: The mediating effect of deviant peer affiliation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), Article 3604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063604