Avoidance-oriented coping tendency, problematic internet use, and girls' mental health

Background Adolescent girls, unlike boys, might engage in problematic Internet use to avoid dealing with their daily hassles, which in turn, contributes to their poor mental health. This study aims to explore whether problematic Internet use mediates the undesirable effect of the avoidance-oriented coping tendency on mental health, considering the moderating role of gender. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey administered at 94 elementary schools in Slovakia as part of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study ( N = 3,537, 13–15 years old, 52% girls, data collected in 2022). Data were collected on mental wellbeing, problematic Internet use and avoidance-oriented coping tendency. Moderated mediation was tested using the PROCESS Macro in SPSS Model 58 on 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results The avoidance-oriented coping tendency positively associated with problematic Internet use only in girls ( b = 0.17, p < 0.0 01), but not in boys [ b = 0.03, p = 0.136, 95% CI (−0.01, 0.08)]. Moreover, problematic Internet use has greater negative effect on wellbeing in girls ( b = −3.79 , p < 0.0 01) than in boys ( b = −2.00, p < 0.001), although it is significant in both genders. The conditional indirect effect of problematic Internet use on the association between the avoidance-oriented coping tendency and wellbeing is significant only in girls [ b = −0.65, 95% CI (−0.88, −0.44)] but not in boys [ b = −0.07, 95% CI (−0.18, 0.02)]. The index of moderated mediation is −0.58 [95% CI: (−0.83; – 0.35)]. Conclusion Findings highlight the need to develop gender-specific interventions to reduce the use of the avoidance-oriented coping tendency and promote healthy Internet use among girls.