Longitudinal Associations Between Problematic Internet Use and Future Time Perspective Among Adolescents: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Study

Previous studies have identified associations between problematic Internet use (PIU) and future time perspective (FTP), but their temporal ordering remains unclear. This study examined longitudinal associations between PIU and three FTP dimensions—future-positive, future-negative, and task orientation—among Chinese adolescents. The analytic sample comprised 802 senior high school students (Mage = 15.72 years, SD = 0.89; 57.0% female) who completed measures of PIU and FTP twice at a six-month interval. An observed-variable cross-lagged panel model was estimated while accounting for autoregressive stability, prospective associations among FTP dimensions, and effects of gender, age, and baseline self-reported academic standing. At both waves, PIU was negatively correlated with future-positive and positively correlated with future-negative and task orientation. Higher PIU at Time 1 was prospectively associated with lower future-positive and higher future-negative at Time 2. In the reverse direction, higher task orientation at Time 1 was prospectively associated with higher PIU at Time 2. No paired cross-lagged coefficients differed significantly in magnitude. The findings indicate modest, dimension-specific longitudinal associations between PIU and FTP. Distinguishing among FTP dimensions may improve theoretical understanding and inform broader school-based assessment and support.