Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct:40:8-14.
doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2022.03.007. Epub 2022 Mar 20.

Psychological distress and internet addiction following the COVID-19 outbreak: Fear of missing out and boredom proneness as mediators

Leilei Liang  1 , Chuanen Li  1 , Cuicui Meng  1 , Xinmeng Guo  1 , Jianping Lv  1 , Junsong Fei  1 , Songli Mei  2
Affiliations

Psychological distress and internet addiction following the COVID-19 outbreak: Fear of missing out and boredom proneness as mediators

Leilei Liang et al. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

COVID-19 has caused major changes in people's mental health and behavior. This study aimed to investigate whether boredom proneness and fear of missing out acted as mediators between psychological distress and Internet addiction (IA). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2020, including 552 youths aged 17-28 years. The recruited participants were asked to complete a series of self-reported questionnaires regarding psychological distress, fear of missing out, boredom proneness and IA. The results indicate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reporting rate of IA in young adults was 28.1%, and fear of missing out and boredom proneness played multiple mediation roles in the relationship between psychological distress and IA. Governments and education departments should focus on young people with psychological deficits to prevent them from succumbing to IA.

Keywords: Boredom proneness; COVID-19; Fear of missing out; Internet addiction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The conceptional framework of the multiple mediation model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Alexander A.C., Ward K.D. Understanding postdisaster substance use and psychological distress using concepts from the self-medication hypothesis and social cognitive theory. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. 2018;50(2):177–186. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2017.1397304. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aygar H., Goktas S., Zencirci S.A., Alaiye M., Onsuz M.F., Metintas S. Association between fear of missing out in social media and problematic internet use in university students. Dusunen Adam-Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences. 2019;32(4):302–308. doi: 10.14744/dajpns.2019.00044. - DOI
    1. Baumeister R.F., Bratslavsky E., Muraven M., Tice D.M. Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998;74(5):1252–1265. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.74.5.1252. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beavers R., Hampson R.B. The beavers systems model of family functioning. Journal of Family Therapy. 2000;22(2):128–143. doi: 10.1111/1467-6427.00143. - DOI
    1. Belton T., Priyadharshini E. Boredom and schooling: A cross-disciplinary exploration. Cambridge Journal of Education. 2007;37(4):579–595. doi: 10.1080/03057640701706227. - DOI

Publication types