Table 5.
Results for the moderator analysis of the relation between problematic internet use and loneliness
| Moderator variables | No. Studies | No. ES | Mean r | 95% CI | t value (sig) | F (df1, df2) | Level 2 variance | Level 3 variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School grade | 56 | 69 | F (2, 66) = 0.548 | 0.004 | 0.017 | |||
| Secondary | 24 | 25 | 0.234 | (0.176, 0.300) | 7.701*** | |||
| Undergraduate | 28 | 40 | 0.262 | (0.211, 0.325) | 9.383*** | |||
| Others | 4 | 4 | 0.304 | (0.165, 0.463) | 4.219*** | |||
| Region | 56 | 69 | F (4, 64) = 2.807* | 0.004 | 0.015 | |||
| East Asia | 14 | 14 | 0.290 | (0.224, 0.373) | 7.989*** | |||
| West Asia | 15 | 19 | 0.174 | (0.102, 0.250) | 4.748*** | |||
| South Asia | 4 | 4 | 0.409 | (0.274, 0.594) | 5.415*** | |||
| Europe | 13 | 16 | 0.243 | (0.171, 0.325) | 6.415*** | |||
| Others | 10 | 16 | 0.273 | (0.190, 0.370) | 6.228*** | |||
| Measure of PIU | 56 | 69 | F (2, 66) = 0.399 | 0.004 | 0.017 | |||
| IAT | 21 | 22 | 0.268 | (0.209, 0.342) | 8.278*** | |||
| OCS | 5 | 5 | 0.204 | (0.065, 0.349) | 2.912** | |||
| Others | 30 | 42 | 0.250 | (0.200, 0.309) | 9.337*** | |||
| Publication year | 56 | 69 | 0.001 | (− 0.007, 0.010) | 0.258 | F (1, 67) = 0.067 | 0.004 | 0.017 |
| Female | 53 | 66 | − 0.375 | (− 0.740, -0.048) | − 2.276 | F (1, 64) = 5.180* | 0.004 | 0.015 |
IAT Internet Addiction Test; OCS Online Cognition Scale
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001