Psychological Development and Education ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 109-116.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2025.01.12

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The Relationship between Negative Life Events and Internet Addiction in Junior Middle School Students: The Roles of Social Anxiety and Boredom Proneness

ZHOU Ziyan1, HU Xiao1, ZHANG Yilin1, SU Ruilin1, XIN Sufei1,2,3, SHENG Liang1,2,3   

  1. 1. School of Educational Science, Ludong University, Yantai 264025;
    2. Laboratory of Intelligent Analysis on Big Data of Adolescent Behaviors, Yantai 264025;
    3. Collaborative Innovation Center for the Mental Health of Youth from the Era of Conversion of New and Old Kinetic Energy along the Yellow River Basin, Yantai 264025
  • Published:2025-01-22

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Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between negative life events and Internet addiction among 3880 junior middle school students and examined the chain mediating effect of social anxiety and boredom proneness. The results showed that: (1) Negative life events can significantly and positively predict Internet addiction among junior middle school students; (2) Social anxiety and boredom proneness partially mediated the relationship between negative life events and Internet addiction, respectively; (3) Negative life events can also indirectly predict Internet addiction through the chain mediating effect of social anxiety and boredom proneness. Combined with the above findings and based on the modified Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model of Internet addicton and the group characteristics of junior middle school students, the present study revealed the internal mechanism of negative environmental factors on junior middle school students’ Internet addiction and important practical implications for intervention work.

Key words: negative life events, Internet addiction, social anxiety, boredom proneness, junior middle school students

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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