The Effect of COVID-19 Perceived Risk on Internet Addiction among College Students in China: An Empirical Study Based on the Structural Equation Model

Ling Pan, Jun Li, Ziao Hu () and Henan Wu
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Ling Pan: School of Finance and Economics, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China
Jun Li: School of Finance and Economics, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China
Ziao Hu: School of Finance and Economics, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China
Henan Wu: School of Finance and Economics, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: This study focused on COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction among Chinese college students during the lockdown. On the basis of the Social Cognitive Theory, this study proposed a mediating model to evaluate the mediating role of difficulties in regulating emotion between the COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 690 college students during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The results showed that the COVID-19 perceived risk was significantly positively associated with Internet addiction (r = 0.236, p < 0.001) and difficulties in emotion regulation (r = 0.220, p < 0.001), difficulties in emotion regulation was significantly positively associated with Internet addiction (r = 0.368, p < 0.001). The COVID-19 perceived risk had a significant and positive predictive effect on Internet addiction (β = 0.233, p < 0.001) among Chinese college students. The analysis of the mediation model showed that difficulties in emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction (indirect effect value was 0.051 with 95% Confidence Interval ranging from 0.027 to 0.085). The findings not only enhanced our understanding of the internal influence mechanism of COVID-19 perceived risk on Internet addiction but also provided a practical basis for college education works. Finally, discussions and suggestions were provided on the basis of the results.

Keywords: Chinese college students; COVID-19 perceived risk; Internet addiction; difficulties in emotion regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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