How Childhood Abuse Influence Young Adults' Problematic Internet Use Across Time: Mediating Role of Sense of Belonging.

Abstract

Although some studies have examined the relationship between childhood abuse and problematic internet use (PIU) and its influencing mechanisms, there is a scarcity of multi-wave longitudinal research distinguishing between within-person and between-person levels. To address this gap, the present study simultaneously employed both the traditional cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) and the random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to investigate the longitudinal relationships among childhood abuse, sense of belonging and PIU with university students. Using the cluster sampling method, 887 university students (Mage = 18.32 years, SD = 0.70 years) participated in the study and were assessed 4 times across 2 years. The traditional CLPM and the RI-CLPM converged in demonstrating that (1) childhood abuse can predict PIU across time; (2) sense of belonging plays a mediating role in the effect of childhood abuse on PIU across time; (3) the bidirectional relationship between sense of belonging and PIU is a vicious cycle mechanism in the effect of childhood abuse on PIU across time. These results provide important intervention implications for PIU.