Risk perception of COVID-19, depressive symptoms and Internet addiction among undergraduates: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious negative psychological effects worldwide, relatively little research has been performed on the potential enduring effects of COVID-19 on people's emotional health and Internet addiction. This study was to examine the longitudinal associations between risk perception of COVID-19, depressive symptoms, and Internet addiction among Chinese undergraduates.

Methods: We conducted a two-wave longitudinal survey by convenience sampling, a total of 1,153 Chinese undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring their COVID-19 risk perception and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in December 2022 (T1) via an online survey. Subsequently, 1,008 of the T1 participants (87.42%) completed the depressive symptoms scale and Internet addiction scale 6 months later, in June 2023 (T2).

Results: (1) Risk perception of COVID-19 was significantly and positively predicted depressive symptoms and Internet addiction 6 months later; (2) Depressive symptoms played a mediating role between risk perceptions and Internet addiction; (3) PTG moderated the first-stage link between risk perception and Internet addiction, and this relationship was more robust for low PTG than for high PTG.

Conclusion: These findings advance our understanding of the relationship and mechanisms between risk perception of COVID-19 and Internet addiction, and further support developing interventions to strengthen PTG for mitigating negative outcomes during major crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; Internet addiction; depressive symptoms; post-traumatic growth; risk perception.

Figure 1

The mediation model of depressive symptoms between risk perception and Internet addiction (^***p < 0.001).

Figure 2

The relationship between risk perception and depressive symptoms at two PTG levels. PTG, post-traumatic growth.