title: Low empathy is associated with problematic use of the Internet: Empirical evidence from China and Germany.
abstract: As empathy has not been investigated in the context of problematic use of the Internet, we conducted a study to test for a potential link. In samples from China (N=438) and Germany (N=202), two self-report measures for empathic behavior and one self-report measure for problematic Internet use (PIU) were administered in adolescents/students. Across both cultures lower empathy was associated with more PIU. The present study underlines the importance to take into account empathy related questionnaires for a better understanding of Internet overuse in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melchers
authors.affiliation: Student Counseling Center, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Student Counseling Center, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yafei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Student Counseling Center, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wanqi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany. Electronic address: christian.montag@uni-ulm.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montag
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D035841:Behavioral Research; D002681:China; D004645:Empathy; D036262:Empirical Research; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: China; Empathy; Germany; Internet addiction