The Relationship between Family Functioning and Pathological Internet Use among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Hope and the Moderating Role of Social Withdrawal

Abstract

This study constructed a moderated mediation model based on problem behavior theory to explore the psychological mechanism of family functioning interaction with pathological internet use. We used the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale, General Functioning Scale, Trait Hope Scale, and Social Withdrawal Scale to measure internet use in 1223 middle school students. The results showed that (1) pathological internet use was negatively correlated with family functioning and hope, and positively correlated with social withdrawal; family functioning was positively correlated with hope, and negatively correlated with social withdrawal; hope was negatively correlated with social withdrawal; (2) family functioning could not only directly predict pathological internet use, but also indirectly predict pathological internet use through hope; and (3) the mediating effect of family functioning on pathological internet use was moderated by social withdrawal, which was stronger for individuals with low social withdrawal but not significant for individuals with high social withdrawal. This study revealed the internal mechanism of the relation between family functioning and adolescents’ pathological internet use, which has theoretical significance for improving adolescents’ hope and reducing their pathological internet use.