The association between intolerance of uncertainty and Internet addiction during the second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A multiple mediation model considering depression and risk perception

Abstract

Repeated outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have forced people to shift most of their work and life activities from offline to online, leading to a growing problem of Internet dependence and even Internet addiction. However, the mechanism of the association between COVID-19-related intolerance of uncertainty (COVID-19 IU) and Internet addiction during the second wave of COVID-19 is still unclear. The current study explored the association between COVID-19 IU and Internet addiction as mediated by depression and risk perception based on the Uncertainty-Depression-Perception-Addiction model (UDPA). A total of 1,137 adult participants were recruited, and COVID-19 IU, depression, risk perception, Internet addiction, and demographic variables were analyzed. The results showed that COVID-19 IU was significantly and positively associated with Internet addiction and that this relationship was mediated in parallel by depression and risk perception. Our findings further extend the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model from the perspective of applicability in the unique context of COVID-19. Furthermore, the study suggests that individuals could decrease their dependence on the Internet to prevent Internet addiction during the second wave of the pandemic through effective interventions that include lowering COVID-19 IU, improving emotion regulation, and developing reasonable perceptions of risk.

Keywords: Internet addiction; depression; intolerance of uncertainty; risk perception; the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019.