Negative life events and problematic Internet use among Chinese junior high school students: a mediation model

Although negative life events have been recognized as a risk factor for Problematic Internet use (PIU), the mechanisms explaining this link remain underexplored. Therefore, this study investigated the association between negative life events and PIU, as well as the underlying mediators. We recruited 8176 (Mage = 14.42 years, SD = 0.94) junior high school students using stratified random cluster sampling from Henan Province, China, in 2023. We tested a mediation model that included the negative life events (predictor variable), parent-child cohesion and school connectedness (mediators), and PIU (outcome variable) simultaneously. The detection rate of PIU was 19.37%. Negative life events were positively related to PIU among junior high school students (β = 0.385, p < 0.001). Parent-child cohesion (β = 0.036, 95%CI: 0.030 ~ 0.044) and school connectedness (β = 0.051, 95%CI: 0.042 ~ 0.059) mediated the relationship between negative life events and PIU. Moreover, the sequential mediating effect was observed for parent-child cohesion to school connectedness (β = 0.015, 95%CI: 0.012 ~ 0.017). Interventions designed to strengthen parent-child cohesion and enhance school connectedness may help mitigate the adverse impact of negative life events on PIU.