Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Addictive Behaviors
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517489
This article is part of the Research Topic An Integrative Proposal in Addiction and Health Behaviors Psychosocial Research: Overview of New Trends and Future Orientations Volume II View all 4 articles

The Impact of Emotional Abuse on Internet Addiction in Chinese Children: The Sequential Mediation Roles of Emotional Dysregulation and Regulatory Emotional Self-efficacy

Provisionally accepted
Wang Liu Wang Liu 1Yuling Li Yuling Li 1*Jie Huang Jie Huang 1*Xiang Gao Xiang Gao 1*Ziyi Xu Ziyi Xu 1*Yonghui Li Yonghui Li 2,3
  • 1 Department of Psychology, HuNan First Normal University, Changsha, China
  • 2 Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In China, emotional abuse and Internet addiction are increasingly prevalent among children, with significant negative effects on their development. Previous research has identified childhood emotional abuse as a major risk factor for Internet addiction in both adolescents and adults. However, the immediate impact of emotional abuse on children's Internet addiction within Chinese culture remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of emotional abuse on Internet addiction through emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy in Chinese children.Methods: A sample of 556 fourth to sixth grade primary school students (girls, 46.6%) with an average age of 10.30 ±0.93 years were recruited from a central province in China. Participants completed the paper-and-pencil survey on emotional abuse, emotional dysregulation, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and Internet addiction. The hypothesized model was tested using Mplus 8.3 with 5000 bootstrap samples.Results: Emotional abuse positively predicts Internet addiction in children; emotional dysregulation and regulatory emotional self-efficacy mediate this relationship independently, and have chain-mediating effects in this relationship. Conclusions: Emotional abuse impacts children's Internet addiction through the development of emotional regulation and self-perception of their abilities in emotional regulation. The findings offer potential strategies for preventing children's Internet addiction.

    Keywords: emotional abuse, Internet addiction, emotional dysregulation, Regulatory emotional self-efficacy, Emotional terrorizing, emotional neglect

    Received: 26 Oct 2024; Accepted: 22 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Li, Huang, Gao, Xu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yuling Li, Department of Psychology, HuNan First Normal University, Changsha, China
    Jie Huang, Department of Psychology, HuNan First Normal University, Changsha, China
    Xiang Gao, Department of Psychology, HuNan First Normal University, Changsha, China
    Ziyi Xu, Department of Psychology, HuNan First Normal University, Changsha, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.