title: Prevalence of Internet addiction and its association with social support and other related factors among adolescents in China.
abstract: A cross-sectional study design was applied amongst a random sample (n = 10158) of Chinese adolescents. Self-completed questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, Internet use situation, Youth Internet Addiction Test, Youth Social Support Rating Scale and Zung Self-rating Depression Scale were utilized to examine the study objectives. Among the study population, the prevalence rate of Internet addiction was 10.4%, with 1038 (10.2%) moderately and 21 (0.2%) severely addicted to the Internet. Results from the multivariate logistic regression analyses suggested that a variety of related factors have significant effects on Internet addiction (parental control, per capita annual household income, academic performance, the access to Internet, online activities). The correlation coefficients showed that Internet addiction was negatively correlated with social support and positively associated with depression. Social support had a significant negative predictive effect on Internet addiction. The mediating effect of depression between social support and Internet addiction was remarkable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Shuang
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China. Electronic address: zhzhh_ahmu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhi-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Jing
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 2005, Australia.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Zhong
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Cai-Yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Feng
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China; Evidence Based Medicine Research Center of Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China. Electronic address: yhsun_ahmu_edu@yeah.net.
authors.forename: Ye-Huan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescents; Internet addiction; Prevalence; Related factors; Social support