The association between parents’ marital status, problematic internet use, and negative emotions among Chinese adolescents: a cross-lagged panel network analysis

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have established a link between problematic internet use (PIU) and negative emotional states, highlighting how familial factors are associated with this relationship. However, most existing studies have employed cross-sectional designs, with few utilizing cross-lagged panel network analysis to explore the dynamic symptom-level relationships among parental marital status, PIU, and negative emotions. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic network interactions among them in Chinese adolescents. METHODS: The sample comprised 10,394 adolescents who completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) twice over a six-month period. A total of four symptom networks and two cross-lagged panel networks were developed. RESULTS: The findings revealed that adolescents from divorced families exhibited significantly higher rates of PIU (PIU: T1 = 21.6%, T2 = 25.6%), depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms compared to their peers from non-divorced families (PIU: T1 = 15.3%, T2 = 16.5%). "Social anxiety" emerged as the key node of the networks across time. "Negative self-esteem" emerged as the most influential node in both the married and divorced family groups (married: OEI = 0.896; divorced: OEI = 0.888). It also functioned as a bridge symptom in the divorced group, whereas "anhedonia" served as the bridge symptom in the married group. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores that PIU and negative emotions differ across parental marital status groups. Key and bridge symptoms may serve as priority targets for preventing and addressing PIU and negative emotions among Chinese adolescents.