The relationship between adolescent impulsivity, mental health, and internet addiction: a latent profile analysis

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to identify group variations in adolescent impulsivity and explore the connections between latent categories of impulsivity and psychological symptoms, social anxiety, and internet addiction. The research involved 2,378 participants from three middle schools in Guangdong Province, China. We assessed the impact of impulsivity levels (measured by BBIS) on depression (measured by KADS-11), anxiety (measured by SCARED), social anxiety (measured by SASC), and internet addiction (measured by YDQ). Latent profile analysis was employed to examine the diversity in adolescent impulsivity, establish latent classifications, and investigate the variances in psychological symptoms, social anxiety, and internet addiction. The middle school students were categorized into five latent groups based on their BBIS scores. Statistical analysis revealed five impulsivity categories, strongly linked to psychological symptoms and social anxiety but less strongly associated with internet addiction. The high impulsivity group (C5) exhibited higher scores in psychological symptoms and social anxiety compared to other groups, whereas the poor self-regulation group (C3) displayed greater psychological symptoms, social anxiety scores, and internet addiction than the impulsive behavior group (C4). Future investigations should investigate the underlying factors contributing to the observed differences among these groups.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent
• mental health
• internet addiction
• latent profile analysis
• impulsivity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Gang Zhao: Coordinated the survey, analyzed the data, and revised the manuscript. Xiaoxue Wu: Managed and analyzed the data, wrote, and revised the draft manuscript. Lingrong Xiao: Initially analyzed the data and conceived of the study design. Siyan Liu: Initially analyzed the data and wrote the original draft. Junru Li: Supervised and collected the data. Hongmei Wu: Final approval of the version to be published; agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China.

Additional information

Funding

Basic Research Fund of Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Committee (No. JCYJ20210324135811031)Sub-fund of Shenzhen Nanshan District Technology R&D and creative design Project [No. NS2021082].