Effects of adolescents' peer attachment on internet addiction: sequential mediating effects of mentalizing and distress tolerance

This study examined the sequential mediating effects of mentalization and distress tolerance in the relationship between adolescents’ peer attachment and internet addiction. To this end, a self-report survey was administered to 219 adolescents in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions. The data were analyzed using Hayes’(2017) PROCESS macro. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, mentalization fully mediated the relationship between adolescents’ peer attachment and internet addiction. Second, distress tolerance did not show a significant mediating effect in the relationship between peer attachment and internet addiction. Third, mentalization and distress tolerance demonstrated a sequential mediating effect in the relationship between peer attachment and internet addiction. In other words, the more stable the peer attachment, the higher the level of mentalization, which in turn increased distress tolerance and ultimately reduced internet addiction. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented.