%0 Journal Article
%@ 1438-8871
%I JMIR Publications
%V 26
%N 
%P e52978
%T COVID-19–Related Social Isolation, Self-Control, and Internet Gaming Disorder Among Chinese University Students: Cross-Sectional Survey
%A Guo,Yufang
%A Yue,Fangyan
%A Lu,Xiangyu
%A Sun,Fengye
%A Pan,Meixing
%A Jia,Yannan
%+ School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, 44 Wen Hua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, China, 86 15269163352, cdguoyufang@163.com
%K COVID-19 pandemic
%K internet gaming disorder
%K self-control
%K social isolation
%K university students
%K game
%K gaming
%K games
%K addict
%K addictive
%K addiction
%K addictions
%K university
%K universities
%K college
%K colleges
%K postsecondary
%K higher education
%K student
%K students
%K China
%K Chinese
%K isolation
%K isolated
%K self-compassion
%K mental health
%K association
%K associations
%K correlation
%K causal
%K correlated
%K correlations
%D 2024
%7 10.9.2024
%9 Original Paper
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: Internet gaming disorder among university students has become a great concern for university counsellors worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. The factors influencing the development of internet gaming disorder in students during the COVID-19 pandemic could be different from those before the pandemic. Objective: This study aims to explore the associations among social isolation, self-control, and internet gaming disorder in Chinese university students and to examine whether self-control mediates the positive effects of social isolation on internet gaming disorder. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from university students in Shandong province of China from April to September 2022. The Isolation subscale of the Self-Compassion Scale, Self-Control Scale, and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale were used to assess the social isolation, self-control, and internet gaming disorder among university students, respectively. Models 4 and 5 of PROCESS software were used to analyze the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of gender on the association between social isolation and internet gaming disorder. Results: A total of 479 students were recruited from 6 universities located in 3 different regions of Shandong, China. Students had low levels of internet gaming disorder and moderate levels of social isolation and self-control, with mean scores of 8.94 (SD 9.06), 12.04 (SD 3.53), and 57.15 (SD 8.44), respectively. Social isolation was positively correlated with internet gaming disorder (r=0.217; P<.001), and self-control was negatively correlated with social isolation (r=–0.355; P<.001) and internet gaming disorder (r=–0.260; P<.001). Self-control played a mediating role in the association between social isolation and internet gaming disorder (β=–.185, 95% CI –.295 to –.087). The effects of social isolation on internet gaming disorder among female students were lower than those among male students. Conclusions: Self-control was a mediator in the association between social isolation and internet gaming disorder. Moreover, gender played a moderating role in the association between social isolation and internet gaming disorder. This study highlights the need to alleviate the development of internet gaming disorder among students during a pandemic, especially that of male students. Effective interventions that lessen social isolation and promote self-control should be developed. 
%R 10.2196/52978
%U https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e52978
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/52978