TY  - JOUR
AU  - Guo, Yufang
AU  - Yue, Fangyan
AU  - Lu, Xiangyu
AU  - Sun, Fengye
AU  - Pan, Meixing
AU  - Jia, Yannan
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/9/10
TI  - COVID-19–Related Social Isolation, Self-Control, and Internet Gaming Disorder Among Chinese University Students: Cross-Sectional Survey
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e52978
VL  - 26
KW  - COVID-19 pandemic
KW  - internet gaming disorder
KW  - self-control
KW  - social isolation
KW  - university students
KW  - game
KW  - gaming
KW  - games
KW  - addict
KW  - addictive
KW  - addiction
KW  - addictions
KW  - university
KW  - universities
KW  - college
KW  - colleges
KW  - postsecondary
KW  - higher education
KW  - student
KW  - students
KW  - China
KW  - Chinese
KW  - isolation
KW  - isolated
KW  - self-compassion
KW  - mental health
KW  - association
KW  - associations
KW  - correlation
KW  - causal
KW  - correlated
KW  - correlations
AB  - 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. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e52978
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/52978
DO  - 10.2196/52978
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/52978
ER  -