title: Traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and Internet addiction symptoms among late adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis.
abstract: The association between traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and substance abuse is well established. Less is known about the role of traumatic experiences and alexithymia in the onset and maintenance of Internet-related disorders. In the present study, self-report measures on traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and problematic Internet use were administered to 358 high school students (57% females) aged 18-19years old, to test whether alexithymic traits mediated the relationship between traumatic experiences and Internet addiction symptoms, and whether gender moderated the proposed mediation in the sample. While partial mediation occurred in the entire sample, gender directly affected the relationship between the investigated constructs: Internet addiction symptoms were independently related to traumatic experiences among males, and to alexithymic traits among females. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that trauma memories among males, and problems with affect regulation among females, may increase the risk of problematic Internet use during late adolescence. Such findings might have relevant implications to inform any treatment plan for late adolescent students who are overinvolved with online activities, pointing out that tailored approaches to their problems and difficulties are particularly needed in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy. Electronic address: adriano.schimmenti@unikore.it.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schimmenti
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Passanisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, LUMSA University of Rome, Piazza delle Vaschette 101, 00193 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caretti
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: La Marca
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Via Po 14, 10123 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granieri
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Calogero
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iacolino
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gervasi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE - Kore University of Enna, Cittadella Universitaria, 94100 Enna, Italy.
authors.forename: Noemi R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Maganuco
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place du Cardinal Mercier 10, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Billieux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Alexithymia; Gender differences; Internet addiction; Late adolescence; Moderated mediation; Traumatic experiences