TY - JOUR
T1 - The association of problematic use of social media and online videogames with aggression is mediated by insomnia severity
T2 - A cross-sectional study in a sample of 18- to 24-year-old individuals
AU - Bersani, Francesco Saverio
AU - Barchielli, Benedetta
AU - Ferracuti, Stefano
AU - Panno, Angelo
AU - Carbone, Giuseppe A.
AU - Massullo, Chiara
AU - Farina, Benedetto
AU - Corazza, Ornella
AU - Prevete, Elisabeth
AU - Tarsitani, Lorenzo
AU - Pasquini, Massimo
AU - Biondi, Massimo
AU - Imperatori, Claudio
N1 - Funding Information:
Authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the “European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet” (CA16207) funded by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) in intellectually supporting the study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - One of the worrying concomitants of problematic use of Internet (PUI) is aggression. Although the mechanisms underlying such link have not been completely clarified, it has been suggested that problematic use of social media and online videogames (i.e., two common forms of PUI among young adults) lead to increased sleep disturbances which, in turn, represent a relevant trigger for aggression. We have tested this hypothesis in a sample (N = 480) of young individuals (351 females and 129 males; mean age: 21.76 ± 1.92 years; range: 18–24). Self-report measures investigating symptoms related to social media addiction (SMA), Internet gaming disorder (IGD), insomnia severity, and aggression were used. Mediational models analyzing the direct and indirect associations of SMA- and IGD-related symptoms on aggression severity through insomnia-related symptoms were performed controlling for confounding factors. The models showed that the total effects of SMA-related symptoms (B = 0.018; p =.010) and of IGD-related symptoms (B = 0.018; p =.041) on aggression severity were significant and that these associations were mediated by insomnia-related symptoms (respectively, p <.001 and p =.003). Our findings support the potential mediating role of insomnia severity in the association of SMA- and IGD-related disturbances with levels of aggression.
AB - One of the worrying concomitants of problematic use of Internet (PUI) is aggression. Although the mechanisms underlying such link have not been completely clarified, it has been suggested that problematic use of social media and online videogames (i.e., two common forms of PUI among young adults) lead to increased sleep disturbances which, in turn, represent a relevant trigger for aggression. We have tested this hypothesis in a sample (N = 480) of young individuals (351 females and 129 males; mean age: 21.76 ± 1.92 years; range: 18–24). Self-report measures investigating symptoms related to social media addiction (SMA), Internet gaming disorder (IGD), insomnia severity, and aggression were used. Mediational models analyzing the direct and indirect associations of SMA- and IGD-related symptoms on aggression severity through insomnia-related symptoms were performed controlling for confounding factors. The models showed that the total effects of SMA-related symptoms (B = 0.018; p =.010) and of IGD-related symptoms (B = 0.018; p =.041) on aggression severity were significant and that these associations were mediated by insomnia-related symptoms (respectively, p <.001 and p =.003). Our findings support the potential mediating role of insomnia severity in the association of SMA- and IGD-related disturbances with levels of aggression.
KW - aggression
KW - insomnia
KW - Internet gaming disorder
KW - problematic use of Internet
KW - psychopathology
KW - social media addiction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120506740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ab.22008
DO - 10.1002/ab.22008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120506740
SN - 0096-140X
JO - Aggressive Behavior
JF - Aggressive Behavior
ER -