• Uncovering the relationship be...

Treffer: Uncovering the relationship between childhood maltreatment subtypes and adolescent internet addiction: Evidence from the network and mediation analysis.

Title:
Uncovering the relationship between childhood maltreatment subtypes and adolescent internet addiction: Evidence from the network and mediation analysis.
Authors:
Huang J; Center for Mental Health Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China., Shen X; Center for Mental Health Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China; Mental Health Education and Consultation Centre, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China., Xie Z; Center for Mental Health Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China., Gaskin J; Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA., Yang C; Center for Mental Health Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China., Wang JL; Center for Mental Health Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. Electronic address: wangjinliang09@gmail.com.
Source:
Child abuse & neglect [Child Abuse Negl] 2025 Nov; Vol. 169 (Pt 2), pp. 107687. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Sep 17.
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Elsevier Science Inc Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7801702 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7757 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01452134 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Child Abuse Negl Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Publication: Oxford : Elsevier Science Inc
Original Publication: Oxford, Elmsford, N. Y., Pergamon Press.
MeSH Terms:
Internet Addiction Disorder*/psychology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/epidemiology , Child Abuse*/psychology , Child Abuse*/classification , Behavior, Addictive*/psychology, Humans ; Adolescent ; Female ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Longitudinal Studies ; Mediation Analysis ; Child ; Internet
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Childhood maltreatment subtypes; Emotional abuse; Internet addiction; Network analysis
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20250918 Date Completed: 20251106 Latest Revision: 20251107
Update Code:
20251107
DOI:
10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107687
PMID:
40967046
Database:
MEDLINE

Weitere Informationen

Background: Childhood maltreatment has been identified as a predisposing factor for adolescent internet addiction. However, existing studies predominantly focus on overall scores of childhood maltreatment, overlooking the differential impact of five childhood maltreatment subtypes (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect).
Objective: To fill this gap, we aim to reveal the specific associations between childhood maltreatment subtypes and internet addiction, thereby identifying the most critical types of childhood maltreatment. The underlying mechanisms were also explored.
Methods: We conducted a large sample cross-sectional Study 1 (N = 9336) and a longitudinal Study 2 (N = 1390) to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment subtypes and internet addiction through network analysis. Longitudinal Study 3 (N = 974) further explored the underlying psychological driving processes through mediation analysis.
Results: Emotional abuse was most strongly associated with internet addiction in both contemporaneous (Studies 1-2) and cross-lagged panel networks (Study 2). Moreover, emotional abuse was longitudinally linked to internet addiction through internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression; compensation-seeking process) and sensation seeking (reward-driven process) (Study 3).
Conclusions: These findings unraveled the complex relationship between childhood maltreatment subtypes and internet addiction and emphasized the importance of psychological interventions focusing on experiences of emotional abuse.
(Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests.