Citation

Liu S, Lin MP, Lee YT, Wu JYW, Hu WH, You J. J. Clin. Psychol. (Hoboken) 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jclp.23264

PMID

34655439

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and Internet addiction (IA) are important health issues for adolescents, and social support has been extensively examined as a protective factor for both. This study aims to compare the effect of offline and online social support on IA, and that on NSSI as well.

METHOD: A total of 1911 Chinese adolescents (53.27% females, M(age)  = 16.83 ± 0.37) completed self-report questionnaires assessing offline social support, online social support, IA, and NSSI.

RESULTS: The structural equation modeling analysis showed that offline social support was negatively associated with IA and NSSI, while online social support was positively associated with IA and NSSI; IA was positively associated with NSSI. Furthermore, implications for preventions and interventions of IA and NSSI were discussed. The indirect model explained a relatively small variance of NSSI, indicating the possibility of additional factors in the development of NSSI that should be further investigated.

CONCLUSION: This study indicated the differences between offline and online social support, and their different associations with IA and NSSI.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; nonsuicidal self-injury; Internet addiction; offline social support; online social support