The effect of negative affect on internet addiction and the mediating effect of fatigue among college students

Objective To explore the effect of negative affect on internet addiction among college students, and the mediating effect of fatigue. Methods Totally 8 371 freshmen from North China University of Science and Technology were assessed with Chen Shuhui Chinese Network Scale, Fatigue Assessment Scale and Positive Negative Emotion Scale.SPSS 23.0 was used to analyze the data and test the intermediary effect. Results Both of the total score of internet addiction scale and the scores of each factor were negatively correlated with positive emotions scores (r=-0.337- -0.269, P<0.01). However, theose were positively correlated with the negative emotion scores(r=0.338-0.417, P<0.01), the fatigue severity scores(r=0.029-0.040, P<0.01), and the environment specific score and the result score of fatigue(r=0.021-0.028, P<0.05). The emotion and fatigue of college students could predict internet addiction, which could explain 36.9% variation of total score of internet addiction(F=979.336, P<0.01). Fatigue played a part in mediating between internet addiction and negative emotions. Conclusion Negative emotions not only directly affect the degree of internet addiction of college students, but also indirectly affect the degree of internet addiction of college students through part of the intermediary role of fatigue. Key words: Internet addiction; Positive affect; Negative affect; Fatigue