Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Volume 15, Issue 11, 2012, Pages 585-590

The relationship between internet addiction and depression among migrant children and left-behind children in China (Article)

Guo J. , Chen L. , Wang X. , Liu Y. , Chui C.H.K. , He H. , Qu Z.* , Tian D.
  • a School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China
  • b School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China
  • c School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China
  • d Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
  • e Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  • f Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
  • g School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China
  • h School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China

Abstract

With greater Internet availability, the pathological use of the Internet has become an emerging mental health issue among adolescents in China. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between Internet addiction and depression in migrant children (MC) and left-behind children (LBC). The present study was conducted using a cross-sectional design with 3,254 participants (8-17-years old), which included 1143 LBC, 574 MC, and 1287 nonleft-behind rural children (RC) from 12 schools. Young's 8-item Internet Addiction Scale was used to assess Internet dependency. The Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form was used to measure child depression. The results showed that the prevalence of depression was 10.9 percent among RC, 19.7 percent among MC, and 14.3 percent among LBC. The prevalence of Internet addiction was 3.7 percent among RC, and was 6.4 percent among MC and 3.2 percent among LBC. Depression was effected by the interaction between types of children and Internet addiction. LBC with Internet addiction (odds ratio [OR], 2.780; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.237-6.248), MC with Internet addiction (OR, 2.922; 95 percent CI, 1.116-7.652), and MC with no Internet addiction (OR, 2.735; 95 percent CI, 1.974-3.789) had higher risks of depression than that for RC with no-Internet addiction. The results indicated that Internet addiction might be associated with an increased risk of depression in LBC, and migration was an important risk factor for child depression. © Copyright 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 2012.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

Child, Abandoned China depression psychological aspect human statistics Internet Cross-Sectional Studies cross-sectional study Humans Adolescent male female risk factor psychological rating scale Risk Factors Psychiatric Status Rating Scales Child Welfare prevalence Article migration Utilization Review addiction Behavior, Addictive Transients and Migrants Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84869040219&doi=10.1089%2fcyber.2012.0261&partnerID=40&md5=df094893ee56f3e1357a9a8363134854
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2012.0261
ISSN: 21522715
Cited by: 37
Original Language: English