How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?

Giulia Ballarotto, Eleonora Marzilli, Luca Cerniglia, Silvia Cimino and Renata Tambelli
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Giulia Ballarotto: Department of Dynamic, Clinical & Health Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Eleonora Marzilli: Department of Dynamic, Clinical & Health Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Luca Cerniglia: Faculty of Psychology, International Telematic University Uninettuno, 00185 Rome, Italy
Silvia Cimino: Department of Dynamic, Clinical & Health Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Renata Tambelli: Department of Dynamic, Clinical & Health Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: International research has underlined a worrying increase in Internet and Instagram addiction among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the role played by alexithymia and psychological distress due to COVID-19 has been evidenced, no study has explored their complex relationship in predicting emerging adults’ Internet and Instagram addiction. The present study aimed to verify whether peritraumatic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediated the relationship between emerging adults’ alexithymia and their Internet/Instagram addiction, in a sample composed of n = 400 Italian emerging adults. Results showed that females had higher peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 than males, whereas males had higher externally oriented thinking and higher levels of Internet addiction than females. Emerging adults’ psychological distress due to COVID-19 significantly mediated the effect of alexithymia on Internet and Instagram addiction. Our findings supported the presence of a dynamic relationship between individual vulnerabilities and the co-occurrence of other psychological difficulties in predicting emerging adults’ Internet and Instagram addiction during the pandemic, with important clinical implications.

Keywords: COVID-19; internet addiction; Instagram addiction; peritraumatic distress; emerging adulthood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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