ReviewBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2025
The Association Between Internet Addiction and Adolescents' Mental Health: A Meta-Analytic Review.
Review in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The relationship between internet addiction and psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of health education on internet addiction, internet use time, and social media addiction in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Using the Internet to Cope With Emotional Problems: The Role of Preference of Online Communication in Adolescents Across 18 Countries.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2026Article
- Stable Co-Occurrence and Time-Specific Within-Person Associations Among Depressive Symptoms, Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Problematic Internet Use in Chinese Adolescents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Beyond Screen Time: Parent-Adolescent Relationship as a Mediating Pathway Between Problematic Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being Among Malaysian Adolescents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Temporal patterns of adolescent screen time and compulsive internet use in Moroccan high school students.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Temporal relationship between physical activity, social anxiety, and internet addiction among adolescents: a cross-lagged analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Beyond Screen Time: Stress, Loneliness, Emotional Competence and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescence.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mental health problems as mediators between self-esteem and internet addiction among adolescents.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Internet Addiction and Its Association with Depression, Anxiety and Quality of Life Among School-going Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study.Annals of neurosciences · 2026Article
- Validation and Reliability of the Spanish Internet Addiction Test-7 (IAT-7) for Adolescents.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Article
- Comparing the Associations of Internet Addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder With Psychopathological Symptoms: Cross-Sectional Study of Three Independent Adolescent Samples.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- DBT-K for Adolescents: Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of a Creative Eight-Week, DBT-Based Transdiagnostic Skills Group.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of a Dance-Based Intervention on Affective States and Self-Esteem in Adolescents Receiving Psychiatric Care: Differences Between Youth with and Without Problematic Internet Use-A Pilot Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Categorical Data in the Evaluation of School-Based Cyberbullying Prevention Programs: A Review of the Literature.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association between depression, anxiety and loneliness with internet addictions among public university students in Malaysia.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Internet addiction and appearance anxiety among university students in Shanghai: upward social comparison as a mediator and autonomous participation in physical activity as a moderator.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Consensus-based framework of actions within educational and family settings to promote healthy and safe ICT use among adolescents: a Delphi study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- The Social Perception of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence and Problematic Internet Use among Spanish Adolescents: A Serial Mediation Model Involving Teacher-Student Relationships and Stress.Psychosocial intervention · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This study examines the association between problematic internet use, or internet addiction, and adolescent mental health, focusing on key psychological variables, assessing the strength of these associations, and identifying potential moderating factors.
methodsA search of the Web of Science databases over the past five years identified 830 articles. Of these, 33 met the inclusion criteria, involving 303,243 participants (average age 14.57; 49.44% female). The selection process was verified by two researchers.
resultsNine psychological variables were analyzed: depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal behaviour, psychological well-being, self-esteem, externalizing problems, aggressiveness, and impulsiveness. Internet addiction showed positive correlations with aggressiveness (
conclusionsAlthough limited by small sample sizes for some variables and the cross-sectional design of most studies, the findings confirm that there is a negative relationship between internet addiction and adolescent mental health. It is related to poorer self-perceived health, greater psychological distress, and greater aggression.
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Registered trials
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.