Peer victimization and children's internet addiction in China: a moderated mediation model

Pingyan Zhou; Jinping Cai; Jiaxin Cui; Jian Liu; Wenguang He; Cai Zhang; Fumei Chen; Zhe Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1236135

Peer victimization and children's internet addiction in China: a moderated mediation model

Front Psychol. 2023 Oct 20:14:1236135. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1236135. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Pingyan Zhou^{1

2}, Jinping Cai³, Jiaxin Cui⁴, Jian Liu², Wenguang He¹, Cai Zhang², Fumei Chen², Zhe Wang²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong Province, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
³ School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
⁴ College of Education, HeBei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, HeBei Province, China.

Abstract

Background: Peer victimization used to be considered as a crucial risk factor for children addicted to the internet. Whereas some victimized ones are function better than would be expected. Variability across individuals indicates that it is necessary to understand how children cope with being bullied and why they do not exhibit maladaptive outcomes.

Objective: We explored the underlying mechanisms by testing whether subjective well-being was a mediator between peer victimization and Internet addiction and whether the mediation effects conditioned on the levels of parent-child relationship (PCR).

Methods: Data were collected from 65, 868 elementary school students in China (Mage = 9.56 years, SD = 0.62, 54.0% male) using four questionnaires.

Results: We found that: (1) subjective well-being can partially mediate the relationship of the two variables; and (2) PCR can moderate direct path and second half of the intermediary process. These moderating effects were stronger for children with higher PCR vs. lower PCR, as a strong PCR can help children to deal with intense emotions and to access effective resources to obtain support.

Conclusion: This study deepens our understanding of how peer victimization leads to internet addiction, identifies a supportive PCR as a crucial factor that strengthens the resilience of child victims, and highlights the value of focusing on improving the relationship between parents and children in intervening internet addiction related to peer victimization.

Keywords: internet addiction; moderated mediation model; parent–child relationship; peer victimization; subjective well-being.

Grants and funding

Data were provided by JL and ZW from the regional programme of collaborative innovation center of assessment for basic education quality at Beijing Normal University. The data in this study may be requested via email. The study was funded by the General Project of National Social Science Foundation of China (23BSH127).