The Relationship Among Internet Addiction, Depression, and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Network Analysis
Ya Wang, Han Wang, Jing Guo, Jia Huang, Jing Xiao, Qi LiBackground
With the increasing prevalence of internet use among younger age groups, internet addiction and its associated mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety, have attracted increasing public attention. Although studies have revealed an association between internet addiction and mental health, there is still a lack of in‐depth understanding of the interactions among specific symptoms and differences between children and adolescents. A network analysis approach was adopted to address these issues.
Methods
A total of 12,779 participants aged 10–18 years completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7) through an online platform. Symptom networks of internet addiction, depression, and anxiety were constructed separately for children and adolescents and compared between the two groups.
Results
The most central symptoms were consistent across the two groups (children and adolescents), including “ anticipation ” (IAT11), “ neglect chores to spend more time online ” (IAT2), and “ uncontrollable worrying ” (GAD2). Bridge symptoms were also similar across the two groups, including “ nervousness ” (GAD1), “ irritability ” (GAD6), and “ restlessness ” (GAD5). However, there were significant differences in network structure, with adolescents exhibiting stronger within‐community (within‐syndrome) edges and children exhibiting stronger between‐community (cross‐syndrome) edges.
Conclusions
This study revealed similarities and differences in the network structures of internet addiction, depression, and anxiety between children and adolescents. These findings may provide a basis for targeted intervention strategies.