Peer Victimization and Adolescent Mobile Social Addiction: Mediation of Social Anxiety and Gender Differences

Wei Tu, Hui Jiang and Qingqi Liu ()
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Wei Tu: Mental Health Education Center for College Students, Department of Student Affairs, Hunan University of Science and Engineering, Yongzhou 425199, China
Hui Jiang: College of Education for the Future, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China
Qingqi Liu: College of Education for the Future, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: Social media addiction has become one of the typical problem behaviors during adolescence. The present study examined the mediation of social anxiety between peer victimization and adolescent mobile social addiction and tested whether gender could moderate the direct and indirect effects of peer victimization. 649 adolescents between 12 and 19 years of age ( M age = 14.80, SD age = 1.82) completed the anonymous survey. The results found that social anxiety was a mediator linking peer victimization to mobile social addiction. Gender could moderate the direct and indirect effects of peer victimization, and these two effects were stronger in girls than in boys. The results highlight the role of social anxiety in explaining how peer victimization was associated with adolescent mobile phone addiction and the role of gender in explaining when or for whom the direct and indirect associations between peer victimization and adolescent mobile social addiction were more potent. The findings would contribute to the intervention of mobile social addiction.

Keywords: peer victimization; mobile social addiction; social anxiety; gender; adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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