Negative life events and internet gaming disorder among Chinese adolescents: a longitudinal moderated mediation analysis of maladaptive cognition and neuroticism

The mechanism regarding how and for whom exposure to negative life events predicts adolescent internet gaming disorder (IGD) over time remains unknown. Using a prospective design, this study examined a moderated mediation model between negative life events and subsequent IGD, with maladaptive cognition toward internet gaming as a mediator and neuroticism as a moderator. A sample of 848 junior high school students in China (50.0% males, Mage = 13.49 years, SDage = 0.99) were asked to complete questionnaires including items on negative life events, maladaptive cognition toward internet gaming, IGD, and Big Five personality traits. After controlling for gender, age, and other personality traits, our results showed that maladaptive cognition (T1) partially mediated the relationship between negative life events and IGD (T2). Neuroticism (T1) moderated the direct and indirect association between negative life events and IGD (T2) via maladaptive cognition (T1), which did not support the diathesis-stress hypothesis or the social push hypothesis. In particular, the link between negative life events and IGD (T2) was stronger for adolescents with low neuroticism than for those with high neuroticism. Furthermore, the indirect effect of negative life events on IGD (T2) through maladaptive cognition (T1) was stronger for adolescents with high neuroticism (T1) than for adolescents with low neuroticism (T1).