Evaluating a cross-lagged panel model between problematic internet use and psychological distress and cross-level mediation of school administrator support on problematic internet use: the serial mediating role of psychological needs thwarting of online teaching and psychological distress

Chen, I.-H., Chen, H.-P., Gamble, J.H., Liao, X., Chen, X.-M., Yang, Y.-T.C., Pakpour, A.H., Griffiths, M.D. ORCID: 0000-0001-8880-6524 and Lin, C.-Y., 2022. Evaluating a cross-lagged panel model between problematic internet use and psychological distress and cross-level mediation of school administrator support on problematic internet use: the serial mediating role of psychological needs thwarting of online teaching and psychological distress. Frontiers in Public Health, 10: 987366. ISSN 2296-2565

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Abstract

Background: To reduce the transmission of COVID-19, many teachers across the globe, including teachers in China, were required to teach online. This shift to online teaching can easily result in psychological need thwarting (PNT) of teachers' psychological basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), leaving them vulnerable to negative psychological outcomes. Resulting negative emotional state may lead to problematic internet use (PIU), which can lead to further psychological distress, forming a vicious cycle.

Methods: The present study was conducted using a cross-lagged panel model (with longitudinal data) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) (with cross-sectional data). The aims were to investigate (i) the reciprocal relationships between two specific forms of PIU [problematic social media use (PSMU) and problematic gaming (PG)] and psychological distress among schoolteachers, and (ii) the influence of administrators' support on schoolteachers' PIU through a cross-level serial mediation model (PNT of online teaching was the first mediator and psychological distress was the second mediator affected by PNT of online teaching). Primary and secondary schoolteachers (N = 980; mean age = 34.76; 82.90% females) participated in two surveys (Time 1: mid-November 2021; Time 2: early-January 2022).

Results: Results indicated that (i) high psychological distress at Time 1 was associated with increased levels of PSMU and PG at Time 2. Inversely, PG at Time 1 was associated with increased psychological distress at Time 2, although PSMU at Time 1 did not have a significant influence on psychological distress at Time 2; (ii) during Time 1, increased administrative support contributed to alleviating teachers' psychological needs thwarting of online teaching, thereby lowering their psychological distress which, in turn, resulted in a decrease in PG.

Conclusion: PG had a stronger negative influence on teachers' psychological distress than PSMU. To relieve teachers' PG, administrative support can alleviate teachers' psychological needs thwarting of online teaching and psychological distress. Based on this finding, school managers must consider effective ways to support teachers during mandatory online teaching.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Frontiers in Public Health
Creators: Chen, I.-H., Chen, H.-P., Gamble, J.H., Liao, X., Chen, X.-M., Yang, Y.-T.C., Pakpour, A.H., Griffiths, M.D. and Lin, C.-Y.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 2 November 2022
Volume: 10
ISSN: 2296-2565
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.3389/fpubh.2022.987366DOI
1615343Other
Rights: © 2022 Chen, Chen, Gamble, Liao, Chen, Yang, Pakpour, Griffiths and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Divisions: Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by: Jeremy Silvester
Date Added: 04 Nov 2022 12:22
Last Modified: 04 Nov 2022 12:22
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/47333

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