• The association between psycho...

Treffer: The association between psychological distress and internet addiction: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.

Title:
The association between psychological distress and internet addiction: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.
Authors:
Lei Y; School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024, China., Xu J; School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024, China., Ma Y; School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024, China; Laboratory for Adolescent Education and Intelligent Support, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024, China. Electronic address: mayuanxiao04@gmail.com.
Source:
Clinical psychology review [Clin Psychol Rev] 2026 Feb; Vol. 123, pp. 102684. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Nov 27.
Publication Type:
Journal Article; Meta-Analysis; Systematic Review
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Elsevier Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8111117 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-7811 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02727358 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Clin Psychol Rev Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Publication: Tarrytown Ny : Elsevier Science
Original Publication: New York : Pergamon Press, c1981-
MeSH Terms:
Behavior, Addictive*/psychology , COVID-19* , Internet Addiction Disorder*/psychology , Internet Addiction Disorder*/epidemiology , Psychological Distress* , Stress, Psychological*/psychology, Humans ; Internet
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Internet addiction; Moderating variables; Psychological distress; Three-level meta-analysis
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251203 Date Completed: 20260115 Latest Revision: 20260116
Update Code:
20260117
DOI:
10.1016/j.cpr.2025.102684
PMID:
41338067
Database:
MEDLINE

Weitere Informationen

Internet addiction has emerged as a global public health concern, with psychological distress recognized as a key contributing factor. Numerous studies have investigated the association between psychological distress and Internet addiction; however, their findings have remained inconsistent, and the moderating factors influencing this relationship have not been comprehensively examined. To address these gaps, the present study conducted a three-level meta-analysis to systematically assess the association between psychological distress and Internet addiction, as well as to explore potential moderators. In total, 135 studies involving 263,780 participants and 632 effect sizes were identified by a systematic literature search. The results revealed a significant positive correlation between psychological distress and Internet addiction. Furthermore, several variables significantly moderated this relationship, including study design, publication year, COVID-19 pandemic context, gender, age group, educational stage, country, living arrangement, measurement of Internet addiction, dimensions of Internet addiction, and types of Internet addiction. These findings provide more comprehensive insights to understand the complex link between psychological distress and Internet addiction and offer theoretical guidance for the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

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.