Internet Addiction among Young Adult University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Peritraumatic Distress, Attachment, and Alexithymia

Eleonora Marzilli (), Luca Cerniglia, Silvia Cimino and Renata Tambelli
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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, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-22

Abstract: The literature focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult university students’ mental health shows a significant increase in psychopathological symptoms and Internet Addiction (IA). The key role played by attachment and alexithymia has also been suggested, but no study has explored the possible dynamic relationship between these variables. We recruited a sample of n = 410 young adult university students online. We assessed the attachment to parents and peers (through IPPA), alexithymia (through TAS-20), peritraumatic distress symptoms due to COVID-19 (through CPDI), and IA (through IAT). The results showed that the relationship between the attachment to mothers and IA was partially mediated by alexithymia and by the serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress, whereas the influence of the attachment to fathers on IA was fully mediated by peritraumatic distress. The direct effects of the attachment to peers on alexithymia, peritraumatic distress, and IA were all significant, as were the indirect paths via the simple mediation of both alexithymia and peritraumatic distress and the multiple serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress. Our findings suggested that the relationship between attachment, alexithymia, and psychopathological risk is dynamic in predicting IA during the pandemic among young adult university students and that the different attachment figures exert a peculiar contribution to these processes.

Keywords: university students; COVID-19; internet addiction; attachment; alexithymia (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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