Treffer: Internet addiction and depressive symptoms among nursing students: A network analysis with implications for nursing education.

Title:
Internet addiction and depressive symptoms among nursing students: A network analysis with implications for nursing education.
Authors:
Li Y; Department of Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China; Department of Neonatology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: li.yuan@scu.edu.cn., Luo B; Department of Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: biruluo@126.com., Shi J; Sichuan Province Education Department, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: shijing_6560@163.com., Chen M; Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: 846260052@qq.com., Fu MR; School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, United States. Electronic address: mei.fu@umkc.edu., Liao S; Department of Nursing, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: liaoshujuan@scu.edu.cn.
Source:
Nurse education today [Nurse Educ Today] 2026 Feb; Vol. 157, pp. 106913. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Nov 06.
Publication Type:
Journal Article; Multicenter Study
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Churchill Livingstone Country of Publication: Scotland NLM ID: 8511379 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1532-2793 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02606917 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nurse Educ Today Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: [Edinburgh, Scotland] : Churchill Livingstone,
MeSH Terms:
Students, Nursing*/psychology , Students, Nursing*/statistics & numerical data , Depression*/psychology , Depression*/epidemiology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/psychology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/complications , Internet Addiction Disorder*/epidemiology, Humans ; Female ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; China ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Adult ; Education, Nursing ; Young Adult ; Internet
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: China; Depressive symptoms; Internet addiction; Network analysis; Nursing students
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251108 Date Completed: 20251126 Latest Revision: 20251218
Update Code:
20251218
DOI:
10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106913
PMID:
41205560
Database:
MEDLINE

Weitere Informationen

Background: Internet addiction and depressive symptoms co-occur frequently among nursing students, threatening their well-being and academic success in a demanding educational environment. The underlying symptom dynamics, however, remain unclear. Network analysis can identify key symptom interactions, providing an empirical basis for targeted interventions and support strategies within nursing education.
Objectives: This study aimed to (1) identify central symptoms within the Internet addiction-depressive symptom network, (2) detect bridge symptoms connecting distinct symptom clusters, and (3) examine gender-specific network patterns among nursing students.
Design: A multicenter cross-sectional study.
Setting: Fourteen universities across seven major geographical regions of China.
Participants: 6019 nursing students recruited through two-stage sampling.
Methods: Data were collected between April and July 2024 using the 6-item Internet Addiction Test and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Network analysis was performed to estimate symptom networks, identify central and bridge symptoms, and examine gender-specific patterns.
Results: Analysis of 5984 valid responses revealed a stable network comprising 15 nodes with 80 non-zero edges. Fatigue/low energy (Expected Influence [EI] = 1.497) and Internet preoccupation (EI = 1.211) emerged as the most central symptoms in the network, while offline emotional dysregulation (bridge EI = 0.234) served as the primary bridge symptom. Gender comparisons revealed significant structural differences (P = 0.049); regarding local connectivity patterns, males showed stronger connections in behavioral control failure and physiological-emotional instability, and females exhibited elevated connectivity in academic impairment and self-concept preservation.
Conclusions: Fatigue/low energy and Internet preoccupation emerged as central symptoms, with offline emotional dysregulation as the primary bridge. Gender-specific network patterns demonstrated distinct symptom interactions, suggesting that targeted interventions should be designed respectively for males and females. These findings advance understanding of symptom-level dynamics and provide evidence-based implications for developing targeted psychological and behavioral interventions within nursing education to enhance students' mental health, academic success, and professional development.
(Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.