Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26171860›Full record

ArticlePloS one2015

The Relationship between Impulsivity and Internet Addiction in Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of Meaning in Life and Self-Esteem.

Ying Zhang, Songli Mei, Li Li, Jingxin Chai, Jiaomeng Li, Hongyang Du

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
46citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  10. Big Five Personality Traits, Personal Projects, and Compulsive Buying: A Causal Approach.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ying ZhangDepartment of Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, China; Department of Children and Adolescent Health Care, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Songli MeiDepartment of Children and Adolescent Health Care, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Li LiDepartment of Children and Adolescent Health Care, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Jingxin ChaiDepartment of Children and Adolescent Health Care, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Jiaomeng LiDepartment of Children and Adolescent Health Care, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Hongyang DuDepartment of dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Internet addiction (IA) has increasingly been recognized as a serious psychological malady among college students. Impulsivity has been shown to be associated to addictive behaviors, also to IA, and that the purpose of the study is to investigate whether or not there are variables modulating the relation between impulsivity and IA. "Meaning in life" is regarded as a desirable attribute, with positive mental health outcomes. "Self-esteem" is often regarded as an important component of psychological health which has relation to IA. Therefore, we examined meaning in life and self-esteem's possible effects in this relationship. A total of 1068 Chinese college students ranging in age from 18 to 25 years were recruited for this cross-sectional survey study. Correlations and multivariate regressions were used to calculate the possible mediation and moderation relationship among the variables of meaning in life, self-esteem, impulsivity, and IA. In the analyses that we conducted, IA was shown to be prevalent among Chinese university students. The relationship between impulsivity and IA was partially mediated by meaning in life, and the relationship between meaning in life and IA was moderated by self-esteem. Our findings demonstrate that meaning in life and self-esteem can be useful buffers to IA for highly impulsive individuals. Further randomized trials to confirm these results are needed.

Indexed as

Impulsive BehaviorInternetSelf ConceptUniversitiesAdolescentAdultBehavior, AddictiveChinaFemaleHumansMaleStudentsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID26171860
PMCPMC4501566

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.