The Association Between Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Psychological Distress, and Internet Addiction in College Students: An Application of Stress Process Model

Biru Chang; Jianhua Hou

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.898203

The Association Between Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Psychological Distress, and Internet Addiction in College Students : An Application of Stress Process Model

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Overview

6 Scopus Citations

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Author(s)

Biru Chang
Jianhua Hou

Related Research Unit(s)

Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Detail(s)

Original language	English
Article number	898203
Journal / Publication	Frontiers in Psychology
Volume	13
Online published	20 Jun 2022
Publication status	Published - Jun 2022

Link(s)

DOI	DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.898203 Final Published version
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Attachment(s)	Documents 109594525.pdf Final Published version, 745 KB, PDF Publisher's Copyright Statement This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link to Scopus	https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85133710029&origin=recordpage
Permanent Link	https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(5fb103a6-8a27-44bd-a8e6-b4423552eda2).html

Abstract

The closed-off management of the university during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be associated with an elevated odds of psychological and behavioral issues among college students. We aimed to use the stress-process model to explore the potential mechanisms for this phenomenon. A total of 924 college students were recruited via posters, peer referrals, and class attendance. Among them, 82 (9%) were probable depression, 190 (20.8%) were probable anxiety, and 69 (7.5%) were internet addiction. Parallel mediation was used to test this theoretical model. For personal resources, the perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively associated with psychological distress via negative coping style (β = 0.051) and internet addiction via negative coping style or self-esteem (β = 0.023 for negative coping style, β = 0.015 for self-esteem). For social resources, the perceived risk of COVID-19 was positively associated with psychological distress and internet addiction via roommate relationships (β = 0.19 for psychological distress, β = 0.046 for internet addiction). Negative coping styles and roommate relationships are possible psychological mechanisms linking the perceived risk of COVID-19, psychological distress, and internet addiction.