Unhealthy Eating Habits and Insomnia Symptoms are Associated with Internet Addiction in Chinese Left-Behind Children: The Gender Difference

Liqing Yao; Kaixin Liang; Qiu Zhang; Xinli Chi

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S432626

Unhealthy Eating Habits and Insomnia Symptoms are Associated with Internet Addiction in Chinese Left-Behind Children: The Gender Difference

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023 Dec 4:16:4871-4881. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S432626. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Liqing Yao^{1

2}, Kaixin Liang^{3

4}, Qiu Zhang⁵, Xinli Chi^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
² Faculty of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, People's Republic of China.
³ School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
⁴ The Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
⁵ The Center for Health Economics and Health Promotion Research, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the associations between unhealthy eating habits and insomnia symptoms with Internet addiction (IA) among Chinese left-behind children (LBC) based on potential gender difference.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in junior high schools from an economically disadvantaged area of China in May 2020. Participants were asked to complete the information and scales of socio-demographic characteristics, eating habits (the frequency of eating carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, protein, and breakfast), insomnia severity and IA. A total of 3156 LBCs (43.9% males and 56.1% females, aged 14.2 years in average) were used for final analyses. Associations between eating habits and insomnia symptoms with IA were analyzed by generalized linear model with binary logistic regression.

Results: The study found that left-behind children (LBCs) had unhealthy eating habits, particularly among females. Females reported more insomnia symptoms than males. The prevalence of IA was similar across genders. Consuming fewer fruits and vegetables and skipping breakfast were linked to increased IA risk, especially in females. Insomnia was significantly associated with higher IA risk in both genders.

Conclusion: In LBCs, unhealthy eating and sleep were notably linked to IA, especially in females. Addressing these factors might reduce the prevalence of IA among LBCs.

Keywords: Internet addiction; eating habits; gender difference; insomnia; left-behind children.