Internet addiction among adolescents is an emerging public health issue. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between being bullied and internet addiction, and further to test the mediating effect of adult attachments on this relationship among Chinese rural adolescents. A total of 1,270 adolescents from three high schools in Henan province were recruited as subjects. Internet addiction was measured by Young's internet addiction scale. This study showed that the prevalence of being bullied and addictive internet use among the recruited Chinese rural adolescents were 41.97% and 11.34%, respectively. Being bullied was significantly associated with internet addition. Adult attachment was found to mediate the association between being bullied and internet addiction. Higher anxiety attachment and lower close-dependent attachment partially explained the higher risk of internet addiction among the Chinese rural adolescents being bullied. This study suggests that the experience of being bullied can increase the risk of addictive internet use and that this risk can be mediated through adult attachments. This discovery supports the adoption of effective prevention programs to decrease school bullying and to improve adult attachments for adolescents in China and other countries.
Keywords: adult attachment; being bullied; internet addiction; rural adolescents.