Table 7.
Results for the moderator analysis of the relation between problematic internet use and other mental health outcomes
| Moderator variables | No. Studies | No. ES | Mean r | 95% CI | t value (sig) | F (df1, df2) | Level 2 variance | Level 3 variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School grade | 76 | 155 | F (2, 152) = 0.466 | 0.003 | 0.021 | |||
| Secondary | 40 | 89 | 0.275 | (0.235, 0.329) | 11.832*** | |||
| Undergraduate | 30 | 58 | 0.303 | (0.256, 0.370) | 10.898*** | |||
| Others | 6 | 8 | 0.316 | (0.197, 0.458) | 4.951*** | |||
| Region | 76 | 155 | F (4, 150) = 4.321** | 0.003 | 0.017 | |||
| East Asia | 28 | 71 | 0.217 | (0.170, 0.272) | 8.629*** | |||
| West Asia | 21 | 40 | 0.344 | (0.297, 0.422) | 11.343*** | |||
| South Asia | 9 | 9 | 0.352 | (0.268, 0.468) | 7.297*** | |||
| Europe | 9 | 17 | 0.356 | (0.276, 0.468) | 7.670*** | |||
| Others | 9 | 18 | 0.270 | (0.191, 0.362) | 6.387*** | |||
| Measure of PIU | 76 | 155 | F (4, 150) = 2.315 | 0.003 | 0.019 | |||
| IAT | 34 | 57 | 0.293 | (0.251, 0.353) | 11.755*** | |||
| YDQ | 3 | 8 | 0.449 | (0.309, 0.658) | 5.470*** | |||
| CIAS | 11 | 22 | 0.227 | (0.145, 0.316) | 5.330*** | |||
| OCS | 3 | 6 | 0.404 | (0.255, 0.602) | 4.875*** | |||
| Others | 25 | 62 | 0.277 | (0.226, 0.342) | 9.698*** | |||
| Publication year | 76 | 155 | 0.009 | (0.001, 0.017) | 2.321* | F (1, 153) = 5.385* | 0.003 | 0.019 |
| Female | 70 | 149 | − 0.007 | (− 0.221, 0.207) | − 0.063 | F (1, 147) = 0.004 | 0.003 | 0.018 |
IAT Internet Addiction Test; YDQ Young’s Diagnostic Questionnaire; CIAS Chen Internet Addiction Scale; OCS Online Cognition Scale
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001