Mediating chain effect of loneliness and anxiety between Internet addiction and ADHD tendency among medical students

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To explore the relationship and influencing factors between Internet addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder（ADHD） tendency among medical students，and to provide scientific support for the intervention of Internet addiction or ADHD tendency population. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted on 221 medical students in February 2024 using the revised Chen Internet addiction scale（CIAS-R），self-rating anxiety scale（SAS），university of California at Los Angels（UCLA），and adult ADHD self-report scale（ASRS），and the data were analyzed. Results Totally 148（69.97%） students had Internet addiction.In the degree of anxiety，48（21.72%） students had mild anxiety，22（9.95%） students had moderate anxiety，and 9（4.07%） students had severe anxiety. 49 medical students（22.17%） had positive ADHD tendency. There were significant positive correlations between two and two of Internet addiction，loneliness，anxiety and ADHD tendency among medical students（r=0.209，0.400，0.633，0.491，0.345，0.535，all P<0.01）. Individuals with high levels of Internet addiction were more likely to exhibit symptoms of loneliness，anxiety and ADHD（t=3.011，5.054，8.887，all P<0.01）. Similarly，those with high levels of ADHD were also more likely to demonstrate Internet addiction，loneliness，and anxiety（t=8.316，5.821，8.677，all P<0.01）.Anxiety partially mediated the relationship between Internet addiction and ADHD tendencies among medical students（β=0.089，16.45%），and loneliness and anxiety formed a chain mediation between Internet addiction and ADHD tendencies among medical students（β=0.025， 4.62%）. Conclusion Through a cross-sectional study of medical students，the complex relationship between loneliness and anxiety in the relationship between Internet addiction and ADHD tendency was explored in depth and its chain-mediated effect was verified，which provides an important theoretical basis and empirical support for understanding this multidimensional psychological phenomenon.

Key words: Internet addiction, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Loneliness, Anxiety, Medical students

CLC Number:

R181.3

LI Jiaying, YU Jiaxue, CHEN Jinzhi, ZHONG Keying, SUN Qitai, DANG Caiping. Mediating chain effect of loneliness and anxiety between Internet addiction and ADHD tendency among medical students. [J]OCCUPATION AND HEALTH, 2026, 42(4): 543-548.

Figures/Tables 6

References 46

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变量	得分（$\bar{x}±s$）	网络成瘾	孤独感	焦虑	ADHD倾向
网络成瘾	62.20±12.95	1.000
孤独感	46.04±6.54	0.209^a	1.000
焦虑	46.05±11.47	0.400^a	0.491^a	1.000
ADHD倾向	29.17±11.06	0.633^a	0.345^a	0.535^a	1.000

变量	得分（$\bar{x}±s$）	网络成瘾	孤独感	焦虑	ADHD倾向
网络成瘾	62.20±12.95	1.000
孤独感	46.04±6.54	0.209^a	1.000
焦虑	46.05±11.47	0.400^a	0.491^a	1.000
ADHD倾向	29.17±11.06	0.633^a	0.345^a	0.535^a	1.000

组别	人数	孤独感	焦虑	ADHD倾向
高网络成瘾组	60	47.28±6.98	52.18±12.37	37.73±10.35
低网络成瘾组	60	43.50±6.78	41.37±11.04	21.00±10.28
t值		3.009	5.054	8.884
P值		0.003	<0.001	<0.001

组别	人数	孤独感	焦虑	ADHD倾向
高网络成瘾组	60	47.28±6.98	52.18±12.37	37.73±10.35
低网络成瘾组	60	43.50±6.78	41.37±11.04	21.00±10.28
t值		3.009	5.054	8.884
P值		0.003	<0.001	<0.001

组别	人数	网络成瘾	孤独感	焦虑
高ADHD倾向组	60	70.78±12.61	48.78±5.73	53.98±11.14
低ADHD倾向组	60	52.18±11.89	42.52±6.05	38.30±8.48
t值		8.316	5.821	8.677
P值		<0.001	<0.001	<0.001