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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Addictive Behaviors
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1557781
The Relationship Between College Students' Belief in a Just World and Internet Addiction: The Moderating Effect of Legal Cognition
Provisionally accepted- Department of Psychology, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China, wenzhou, China
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Background:Previous studies have explored various personality and emotional variables influencing internet addiction. However, few have examined the impact mechanism of legal cognition on internet addiction. This study examined the relationship between belief in a just world and internet addiction, investigating whether legal cognition could moderate the effect of belief in a just world on internet addiction.The study used the Belief in a Just World Scale, the Internet Addiction Scale, and the Legal Cognition Assessment Scale to survey 532 college students from universities in mainland China.Results:Correlation analysis indicated a significant negative correlation between belief in a just world and internet addiction; belief in a just world negatively predicted internet addiction, and both the overall score of legal cognition and abstract legal cognition moderated this relationship.:College students' internet addiction was influenced by belief in a just world and legal cognition, suggesting that interventions for internet addiction among college students could involve cognitive-behavioral therapy and education on the rule of law.
Keywords: Belief in a just world, Internet addiction, Legal Cognition, college students, abstract legal cognition
Received: 10 Jan 2025; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 XU, zhu 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: Shuhui XU, Department of Psychology, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China, wenzhou, 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.