ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
The link between problematic internet use, problematic gaming, and psychological distress: does sleep quality matter?
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Linking mental health and digital addiction in general population: an overview of thematic evolution and trends from a science mapping perspective.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Digital Devices Use and Sleep in Adolescents: An Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the link between internet addiction and sleep quality and the implications of this relationship: a systematic review.Trends in psychiatry and psychotherapy · 2025Pooled it
- Association of Internet addiction with psychiatric symptom levels and sleep disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Correlations between problematic internet use and suicidal behavior among Chinese adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Substance use amongst individuals with internet gaming disorder and gaming disorder: A scoping review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Article
- The relationship between mindfulness, self-control, and short video addiction among medical students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between social support, e-Health literacy, sleep quality and Internet addiction disorder in college students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Gaming disorder in the ICD-11: the state of the game.BMC psychiatry · 2025Review
- The relationship between specific problematic internet use and hope: academic exhaustion as mediator and mattering as moderator among Chinese university students.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact of Social Media Addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder on Sleep Quality: Serial Mediation Analyses.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2024Article
- The Lived Experiences of Individuals and Coping Strategies in the Context of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Study Within Higher Education Setting in Uganda.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Article
- University Students' Gaming and Gambling Behaviors, Related Factors, and the Relationship Between Gaming and Gambling.Journal of gambling studies · 2023Article
- Analysis of the determinants of sleep quality in a Spanish population: a study protocol for a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2023Observational
- The Psychometric Properties of the DASS-21 and Its Association with Problematic Internet Use among Chinese College Freshmen.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The mediating role of sleep quality on the relationship between internet gaming disorder and perceived stress and suicidal behaviour among Indian medical students.General psychiatry · 2023Article
- Biopsychosocial factors of gaming disorder: a systematic review employing screening tools with well-defined psychometric properties.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Prevalence of problematic Internet use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2022Review
- The More Internet Access, the More Mental Symptoms Students Got, the More Problematic Internet Use They Suffered: a Meta-analysis of Mainland Chinese Adolescents and Young Adults.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThis study aimed to examine the mediating role of sleep quality in the association of problematic internet use (PIU) and problematic gaming with psychological distress among college students in China.
methodsData of 1040 full-time students from multiple colleges in China were examined. Respondents were asked about their internet use and gaming behaviors, sleep quality, psychological distress, and sociodemographic characteristics. The mediating role of sleep quality in the PIU- and problematic gaming-psychological distress link was examined respectively.
resultsPIU was associated with decreased sleep quality (r = .32, p < .001) and increased psychological distress (r = .46, p < .001). Problematic gaming was also associated with decreased sleep quality (r = .22, p < .001) and increased psychological distress (r = .46, p < .001). Sleep quality accounted for 23.5% of the indirect effect of PIU on psychological distress, and 17.9% of the indirect effect of problematic gaming on psychological distress.
conclusionsSleep quality had a meaningful mediating effect on the PIU-psychological distress link, but only exerted a small mediating effect on the problematic gaming-psychological distress link. In addition to promoting healthy internet usage, strategies aimed at mitigating the negative effect of excessive internet use on psychological health might benefit from those aimed at improving sleep quality.
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