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It is known that increasing internet use increases internet addiction levels in adolescents and this leads to many health problems, especially musculoskeletal pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of internet addiction in high school students as well as the impact on the musculoskeletal system. This cross-sectional study included 986 high school students from Diyarbakir, Turkey. The students were assessed using the Socio-demographic Information Form, Young Internet Addiction Scale, Nordic Musculoskeletal System Questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale, and Online Questionnaire method. It was found that 26.2% of the students are addicted to the internet. While neck pain was the leading musculoskeletal system problem of the students in the last 12 months with 61.3%, the low back was the region that had the most impact on adolescents ability to go about their daily lives with 31.2%. The internet addicts' musculoskeletal discomfort in the previous year in all body parts and pain in the last 7 days in all body parts except the elbows were statistically significantly higher than the non-addicted group (p<0.05). The prevalence of internet addiction among students has been found to be significant, and this addiction causes musculoskeletal pain and activity limitations in many body parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific literature firmly states that bullying can affect adolescent mental health, however, it lacks longitudinal studies on potential psychological risk factors of bullying involvement, especially in less developed countries. This longitudinal study with 1,739 7th-grade students of 30 Brazilian schools aimed to analyze how psychiatric symptomatology can predict bullying patterns among adolescents. We conducted a latent class analysis to identify patterns of bullying victimization and perpetration. Multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to assess if baseline psychiatric symptoms affected bullying latent classes at nine-month follow-up. Analyses considered the complex multilevel data structure and were adjusted for sociodemographic variables. We found three bullying latent classes: minimal involvement, victims, and bully-victims. Internalizing psychiatric symptomatology predicted the probability of belonging to the "victims" class. Externalizing symptoms increased the future probability of belonging to the "bully-victims" class. These findings are independent of sociodemografic variables, such as age, socioeconomic status, and sex. Conduct problems were a risk factor for all bullying latent classes. Therefore, bullying prevention actions should target children and early adolescents with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic social media use (PSMU) refers to excessive uncontrolled use of social media which impacts upon daily functioning (Blackwell et al., 2017). Self-regulation is central to the development and experience of PSMU, and conceptually interrelates with individual usage motivations (Reinecke et al., 2022). While there is a growing body of research on social media use motivations, how usage motivations and self-regulation combined influence PSMU is not well understood. There are also persistent questions around the effectiveness of addiction-based measures of PSMU. The quantitative component of this nested mixed-methods study (N = 607) employed hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling, principally identifying that impulsive social media usage mediates the pathway between perceived executive/attentional functioning and the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS, Andreassen et al., 2012, 2016), a popular tool used to measure PSMU. In contrast, social-engagement motivations had a negative influence on the BSMAS. The qualitative component, comprising interview/open-ended questionnaire, explored individual experiences self-regulating social media use. Participants (N = 24) were recruited from the survey study, based on meeting screening criteria for executive dysfunction (Adult Self-Report ADHD Scale, Kessler et al., 2005), with sub-groups defined by top and bottom quartile BSMAS scores (evenly grouped). Thematic analysis found that most individuals with attention dysregulation, regardless of their BSMAS category, perceive self-regulation of social media use as highly challenging and effortful, describing broadly problematic relationship with social media. They also described rich combination of motivations and context of using social media, and strategies for managing use. This research questions the effectiveness of the BSMAS as a measure of general PSMU (lacking a formed self-regulation component), especially in individuals with attentional dysregulation. Future research investigating self-regulation strategies and focusing on characteristics of positive social media use is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research investigated the role of social media use and perceived socio-cultural pressure as predictors of the endorsement of ideal body stereotypes. However, not much has been explored concerning cognitive fusion and its role within this framework. The current study investigated social media use as a predictor of ideal body stereotypes and how this relationship is mediated by perceived social pressure. Additionally, we explored the potential moderating roles of cognitive fusion within these relationships. Our sample consisted of 489 participants aged 18 to 53 (73.2% females). The findings suggested that the participants' reported social media use level significantly predicted both the ideal body stereotypes and the perceived social pressure. The overall effect of perceived social pressure on ideal body stereotypes was not significant. However, at low levels of cognitive fusion, the perceived social pressure significantly mediated the relationship between social media use and ideal body stereotype. We consider the current findings significant for their contribution to potential educational programs designed to address the adverse consequences of social media use on psychological and physical well-being. Highlights: Higher social media use (SMU) levels are associated with higher levels of ideal body stereotype (IBS) Perceived socio-cultural pressure (PSP) mediates the relationship between SMU and IBS Cognitive fusion (CF) moderates the pathway between SMU and perceived social pressure (PSP) PSP predicted IBS only at low levels of CF We found significant gender differences in cognitive fusion and IBS [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of online social networking sites (SNSs) is often problematic in young people. However, studies seldom seek to understand personal differences and deep-seated reasons in its problematic utilization. This study aims to explore the longstanding and recent psychosocial predictors of problematic utilization of WeChat friend center (PUWF) longitudinally. A total of 433 college students (17–25 years old, male/female ratio: 389/44) were investigated over 2 successive years (T1: first year; T2: second year) using the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, Social Support Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the problematic utilization scale of the WeChat friend center which was developed in this study. Correlation, regression, and structural equation analyses were conducted. A problematic utilization scale of the WeChat friend center was developed with Cronbach's alpha of.836. 21.02% of students reported WeChat PUWF. Males utilized the WeChat friend center less than females, and females were at higher risk of PUWF, which was correlated with worse mental health. In the longitudinal prediction, regression and modeling analyses showed that apprehension of personality predicted PUWF consistently and directly, and this was partially mediated by T1 depression and T2 negative life events. Resultys suggest that females are at higher risk for PUWF. Apprehension personality has a direct and indirect effect on PUWF through recent depression and life events. The findings help to recognize individuals at risk for PUWF as well as to better prevent it, and provide suggestions as to the functional design of SNSs according to different need of users. Core tips: Utilization of SNSs is often problematic in young people. However, personal differences and deep-seated reasons in its problematic utilization has been poorly revealed. Through a longitudinal investigation, this study confirms that females are at higher risk for PUWF. Apprehension personality has a direct and indirect effect on PUWF through recent depression and life events. The findings help to recognize individuals at risk for PUWF and give theoretical evidence to the functional design of SNSs for diferent users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology use plays an essential role in adolescents' psychological adjustment, impacting their mental health and well-being. In this scenario, Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is a risky condition for developing behavioral addiction in adolescence. Most of the research on PIU in adolescence focus on dimensions that may amplify or buffer it, finding significant associations between PIU and interpersonal problems with peers, maladaptive personality traits, low self-esteem, emotion dysregulation, and increasing psychological difficulties. It has been suggested that PIU might represent a maladaptive coping strategy to tackle problematic psychosocial functioning. In this line, the current cross-sectional study focused on PIU's role in the association between personality dimensions and internalizing/externalizing problems. Two-hundred thirty-one middle and late adolescents (age range 15–19 years; 62% Female) attending public junior high schools in Italy completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Adolescent Personality Structure Questionnaire (APS-Q), and the Youth Self Report (YSR). Moderation analyses were used to test the hypothesis that higher PIU amplifies the relationship between maladaptive personality dimensions and psychological symptoms. Results indicated that only high PIU influenced the relationship between difficulties in building significant relationships with peers and internalizing problems. Conversely, PIU buffered the relationship between difficulties in adolescents' sense of self (identity) and internalizing problems and the association between aggression regulation and internalizing problems, supporting the role of PIU as a maladaptive coping strategy. These findings encourage accurately evaluating PIU as a risk factor in adolescence: (1) considering how high PIU's presence should impact the relationship between adolescent personality and the quality of their relationships with peers; (2) acknowledging the role of PIU as a regulation strategy for identity difficulties and aggression dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet addiction (IA) among adolescents has become a major problem nowadays. Previous studies have found the association between childhood trauma and Internet addiction. There is evidence that coping styles may play a mediating role in this association, but related studies are still limited. This study aims to investigate the association between childhood trauma and Internet addiction among Chinese adolescents and whether coping styles mediate this association. A cross-sectional study design was adopted. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescents' Mental and Behavioral Well-being Research (Registration No. ChiCTR1900022032). A multi-stage random cluster sampling was adopted to recruit a total of 1, 956 first-grade middle school students from ten high schools in Guangzhou. Demographic characteristics, childhood trauma, Internet addiction, and coping styles were measured. After controlling for sex, grade, household socioeconomic status, one child or not, living arrangement, family relation, smoking and drinking, multivariable linear regression models showed that physical abuse (unstandardized β estimate = 0.846, 95% CI = 0.615 ~ 1.076), emotional abuse (unstandardized β estimate = 0.997, 95% CI = 0.843 ~ 1.151), emotional neglect (unstandardized β estimate = 0.218, 95% CI = 0.099 ~ 0.338) and sexual abuse (unstandardized β estimate = 1.454, 95% CI = 1.065 ~ 1.844) were positively associated with IA. Further analyses showed that negative coping styles partially mediated the association between physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and IA among all the participants. Adolescents with childhood traumatic experiences may have a higher risk for Internet addiction, and negative coping styles may play a mediating role. Attention should be paid to adolescents with childhood traumatic experiences, especially those possessing negative coping styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]