TABLE 1.
Characteristics of participants and factors associated with increased time spent on recreational Internet use and severity of Internet addiction during the pandemic
| Factors associated with increased time spent on recreational use | Factors associated with increased severity of Internet addiction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | N (%)/M ± SD | Adjusted OR (95% CI)a/χ 2 | P value | Adjusted OR (95% CI)a/χ 2 | P value |
| Gender | |||||
| • Male | 8902 (43.5) | * | * | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Female | 11,570 (56.5) | * | * | 1.17 (1.09‐1.26) | <.001 |
| Age | |||||
| • 15‐24 years | 3683 (18.1) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • 25‐34 years | 8076 (39.4) | 0.93 (0.80‐1.08) | .315 | 0.97 (0.87‐1.09) | .646 |
| • 35‐44 years | 5944 (29.0) | 1.02 (0.87‐1.20) | .784 | 0.98 (0.86‐1.10) | .692 |
| • ≥45 years | 2770 (13.5) | 1.20 (1.00‐1.44) | .049 | 1.19 (1.04‐1.37) | .001 |
| Location | |||||
| • Non‐Hubei | 19,421 (94.8) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Hubei (non‐Wuhan) | 629 (3.1) | 1.59 (1.30‐1.94) | <.001 | 1.44 (1.21‐1.73) | <.001 |
| • Wuhan | 422 (2.1) | 1.20 (0.93‐1.56) | .157 | 1.18 (0.95‐1.46) | .128 |
| Education | |||||
| • Lower than junior college | 9336 (45.6) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Junior college and college | 9277 (45.3) | 1.11 (1.01‐1.22) | .031 | 1.15 (1.07‐1.23) | <.001 |
| • Postgraduate | 1859 (9.1) | 1.42 (1.22‐1.64) | <.001 | 1.15 (1.02‐1.29) | .020 |
| Occupation | |||||
| • Company staff | 6862 (33.5) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Students | 2555 (12.5) | 1.19 (1.01‐1.41) | .048 | 1.20 (1.05‐1.38) | .008 |
| • Factory workers | 1375 (6.7) | 0.98 (0.81‐1.18) | .836 | 0.83 (0.72‐0.95) | .006 |
| • Farmers | 278 (1.4) | 1.27 (0.90‐1.81) | .179 | 0.68 (0.52‐0.90) | .007 |
| • Individual private entrepreneurs | 1710 (8.4) | 1.15 (0.98‐1.34) | .079 | 0.94 (0.83‐1.06) | .309 |
| • Technical personnel | 2027 (9.9) | 1.12 (0.97‐1.30) | .109 | 1.13 (1.01‐1.26) | .028 |
| • Freelancers | 928 (4.5) | 0.92 (0.75‐1.13) | .422 | 1.06 (0.91‐1.23) | .492 |
| • Service personnel | 515 (2.5) | 0.97 (0.74‐1.27) | .837 | 1.01 (0.83‐1.24) | .892 |
| • Public institution personnel/civil servants/government personnel | 2232 (10.9) | 0.95 (0.82‐1.10) | .474 | 0.99 (0.89‐1.10) | .827 |
| • Unemployed/retired | 1620 (7.9) | 0.78 (0.65‐0.94) | .007 | 0.85 (0.76‐0.97) | .013 |
| • Other | 370 (1.8) | 0.76 (0.54‐1.09) | .132 | 0.89 (0.71‐1.13) | .343 |
| Parenting style | |||||
| • Democratic | 14,608 (71.4) | * | * | * | * |
| • Authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved | 5864 (28.6) | * | * | * | * |
| Family monthly income | |||||
| • <5000 | 2958 (14.4) | 1.17 (1.02‐1.33) | .025 | * | * |
| • 5000‐10,000 | 7385 (36.1) | 1.24 (1.08‐1.42) | .002 | * | * |
| • 10,000‐30,000 | 7773 (38.1) | 1.10 (0.93‐1.31) | .268 | * | * |
| • >30,000 | 2328 (11.4) | 1 [Reference] | – | * | * |
| Social supporter | |||||
| • 0‐2 | 7858 (38.4) | 1.13 (1.01‐1.18) | .015 | 1.08 (0.99‐1.17) | .099 |
| • 3‐5 | 8360 (40.8) | 0.94 (0.84‐1.05) | .256 | 1.12 (1.03‐1.21) | .009 |
| • ≥6 | 4254 (20.8) | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | – | |
| Family harmony during childhood | |||||
| • Good | 8154 (39.8) | * | * | * | * |
| • Medium | 9920 (48.5) | * | * | * | * |
| • Bad | 2398 (11.7) | * | * | * | * |
| Negative life event experience | |||||
| • Yes | 6794 (33.2) | 1.14 (1.04‐1.24) | .005 | * | * |
| • No | 13,678 (66.8) | 1 [Reference] | – | * | * |
| Coping ability | |||||
| • Good | 8455 (41.3) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Medium | 9937 (48.5) | 1.18 (1.06‐1.30) | .002 | 1.10 (1.03‐1.19) | .007 |
| • Bad | 2080 (10.2) | 1.06 (0.91‐1.23) | .483 | 0.91 (0.81‐1.02) | .110 |
| Personality | |||||
| • Extroversion | 2.57 ± 0.84 | * | * | * | * |
| • Openness | 2.51 ± 0.81 | * | * | * | * |
| • Agreeableness | 2.80 ± 0.83 | 1.16 (1.09‐1.24) | <.001 | * | * |
| • Conscientiousness | 2.65 ± 0.80 | 1.08 (1.01‐1.15) | .019 | * | * |
| • Neuroticism | 1.93 ± 0.84 | 0.86 (0.82‐0.91) | <.001 | * | * |
| Smoking | |||||
| • Nonsmokers | 17,182 (83.9) | 1 [Reference] | – | * | * |
| • Ex‐smokers | 828 (4.1) | 1.18 (0.99‐1.42) | .050 | * | * |
| • Occasional smokers | 877 (4.3) | 1.23 (1.03‐1.47) | .026 | * | * |
| • Regular smokers | 1585 (7.7) | 0.90 (0.78‐1.06) | .214 | * | * |
| Drinking | |||||
| • Nondrinkers | 12,710 (62.1) | * | * | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Ex‐drinkers | 902 (4.4) | * | * | 1.09 (0.93‐1.27) | .296 |
| • Occasional drinkers | 6239 (30.5) | * | * | 1.15 (1.07‐1.24) | <.001 |
| • Regular drinkers | 621 (3.0) | * | * | 1.35 (1.12‐1.62) | .002 |
| PHQ‐9 | |||||
| • <10 | 16,334 (79.8) | * | * | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • ≥10 | 4138 (20.2) | * | * | 1.23 (1.13‐1.35) | <.001 |
| GAD‐7 | |||||
| • <10 | 17,648 (86.2) | * | * | * | * |
| • ≥10 | 2824 (13.8) | * | * | * | * |
| Perceived pressure | |||||
| • No | 7413 (36.2) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Small | 9842 (48.1) | 1.34 (1.18‐1.52) | <.001 | 1.41 (1.30‐1.53) | <.001 |
| • Big | 217 (15.7) | 1.55 (1.33‐1.82) | <.001 | 1.73 (1.53‐1.94) | <.001 |
| Impact on mental health | |||||
| • No | 10,167 (49.7) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Small | 9029 (44.1) | 1.78 (1.60‐1.99) | <.001 | 1.96 (1.81‐2.11) | <.001 |
| • Big | 1276 (6.2) | 2.79 (2.33‐3.34) | <.001 | 2.73 (2.32‐3.22) | <.001 |
| Number of cohabitants | |||||
| • <3 | 6162 (30.1) | * | * | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • 3 | 6681 (32.6) | * | * | 1.13 (1.04‐1.22) | .003 |
| • >3 | 7627 (37.3) | * | * | 1.10 (1.02‐1.19) | .012 |
| Living space | |||||
| • <90 m2 | 7517 (36.7) | * | * | * | * |
| • 90‐120 m2 | 6727 (32.9) | * | * | * | * |
| • >120 m2 | 6219 (30.4) | * | * | * | * |
| Satisfaction with living conditions | |||||
| • Low satisfied | 3950 (19.3) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Medium satisfied | 7901 (38.6) | 1.00 (0.90‐1.12) | .992 | 0.93 (0.85‐1.01) | .072 |
| • Highly satisfied | 8621 (42.1) | 0.89 (0.79‐0.99) | .042 | 0.81 (0.74‐0.88) | <.001 |
| COVID‐19 b , c | |||||
| • None of the following situation | 13,438 (93.4) | ||||
| • People infected or had close contacts with people infected | 34 (0.3) | 8.28 | .016 | 13.15 | .001 |
| • Participation in rescues | 902 (6.3) | ||||
| Main online activity | |||||
| • Chatting/communication | 9019 (44.1) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • Playing online games | 1809 (8.8) | 1.42 (1.23‐1.63) | <.001 | 1.15 (1.03‐1.29) | .014 |
| • Watching video/live broadcast/audio | 2214 (10.7) | 1.41 (1.24‐1.61) | <.001 | 1.10 (0.99‐1.22) | .072 |
| • Online shopping | 1983 (9.7) | 1.00 (0.86‐1.17) | .993 | 1.09 (0.98‐1.22) | .117 |
| • Browsing web pages/news/forums/Weibo | 3900 (19.1) | 1.23 (1.10‐1.37) | <.001 | 1.07 (0.98‐1.16) | .141 |
| • Learning/searching for information | 1547 (7.6) | 0.99 (0.84‐1.17) | .895 | 0.91 (0.81‐1.03) | .136 |
| IAT score | |||||
| • 0‐49 | 12,955 (63.3) | 1 [Reference] | – | 1 [Reference] | – |
| • 50‐79 | 6937 (33.9) | 1.74 (1.59‐1.90) | <.001 | 2.90 (2.70‐3.11) | <.001 |
| • 80‐100 | 580 (2.8) | 2.48 (2.01‐3.06) | <.001 | 5.40 (4.38‐6.65) | <.001 |
Bold values indicate a statistically significant difference with a P value of less than .05.
95% CI = 95% confidence interval; GAD‐7 = Generalized Anxiety Disorder; IAT = Internet Addiction Test; OR = odds ratio; PHQ‐9 = Patient's Health Questionnaire.
a
Adjusted for gender, age, location, education, occupation, parenting style, family monthly income, number of social supporters, family harmony during childhood, negative life event experience, coping ability, personality, smoking, drinking, symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived pressure and impact on mental health, number of cohabitants, living space, satisfaction with living conditions, main online activity, and IAT score.
b
Number of responders were 14,374.
c
χ 2 tests.
*
Variables that were not statistically significant in the multivariable regression model.
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