Investigating the Relationship between Loneliness, Physical Activity, and Internet Addiction: The Mediating Role of Academic Burnout and Self-Control
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Abstract
Objective: Internet addiction (IA) poses significant challenges for university students. Although loneliness, physical activity (PA), self-control (SC), and academic burnout (AB) have been implicated in IA, their distinct contributions and mechanisms require further investigation.
This study aimed to investigate whether loneliness positively predicts IA, while PA and SC serve as protective factors. It further examined the mediating roles of SC and AB in the relationships between loneliness, PA, and IA among university students in Iran.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 490 university students who were recruited using convenience sampling, as this approach was the most practical and feasible given the ease of online survey distribution and limitations in time and resources. All participants were students from universities located in Tehran, Iran. Validated Persian versions of standardized instruments were used to assess A, loneliness, PA, SC, and AB. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS was employed to evaluate both direct and indirect associations among the study variables.
Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that loneliness had a moderate positive effect on IA (β = 0.217, P = 0.001), while both PA and SC showed small but significant negative effects (PA: β = − 0.207, P < 0.001; SC: β = − 0.178, P = 0.037). In contrast, AB did not significantly predict IA (β = 0.055, P = 0.425). Mediation analysis indicated that SC partially mediated the relationship between loneliness and IA (indirect effect: b = 0.054, P < 0.05), while AB showed no significant mediating role in the model.
Conclusion: These findings support cognitive-behavioral models of IA and suggest that improving self-regulation and promoting social connectedness may help mitigate IA risk. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs to examine causal pathways and explore the moderating role of specific coping styles (e.g., emotion-focused vs. problem-focused).
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3. Hernández C, Ferrada M, Ciarrochi J, Quevedo S, Garcés JA, Hansen R, et al. The cycle of solitude and avoidance: a daily life evaluation of the relationship between internet addiction and symptoms of social anxiety. Front Psychol. 2024;15:1337834.
4. Liu X, Gui Z, Chen ZM, Feng Y, Wu XD, Su Z, et al. Global prevalence of internet addiction among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2025;38(3):182-99.
5. Chen W, Gao Y, Ren R, Bi Y, Liao Y. Socioeconomic status and internet addiction: double-mediated moderation. BMC Public Health. 2025;25(1):48.
6. Rachubińska K, Cybulska A, Szkup M, Grochans E. Analysis of the relationship between personality traits and Internet addiction. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(6):2591-9.
7. Shi M, Du TJ. Associations of personality traits with internet addiction in Chinese medical students: the mediating role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms. BMC Psychiatry. 2019;19(1):183.
8. Tang H, Li Y, Dong W, Guo X, Wu S, Chen C, et al. The relationship between childhood trauma and internet addiction in adolescents: A meta-analysis. J Behav Addict. 2024;13(1):36-50.
9. Hasani J, Chashmi SJE, Firoozabadi MA, Noory L, Turel O, Montag C. Cognitive emotion regulation mediates the relationship between big-five personality traits and internet use disorder tendencies. Comput Human Behav. 2024;152:108020.
10. Santoro G, Costanzo A, Franceschini C, Lenzo V, Musetti A, Schimmenti A. Insecure Minds through the Looking Glass: The Mediating Role of Mentalization in the Relationships between Adult Attachment Styles and Problematic Social Media Use. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024;21(3):255.
11. Wang J, Xu X, Wu Q, Zhou C, Yang G. The mediating effect of subject well-being between physical activity and the internet addiction of college students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1368199.
12. Fan H, Qi S, Huang G, Xu Z. Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Inhibitory Control of College Students with Smartphone Addiction. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021;2021:5530126.
13. Haugen T, Säfvenbom R, Ommundsen Y. Sport participation and loneliness in adolescents: the mediating role of perceived social competence. Curr Psycho. 2013;32:203-16.
14. Buecker S, Maes M, Denissen JJ, Luhmann M. Loneliness and the Big Five personality traits: A meta–analysis. Eur J Pers. 2020;34(1):8-28.
15. Wang K, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang T, Luo J. The role of loneliness and learning burnout in the regulation of physical exercise on internet addiction in Chinese college students. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):1994.
16. Tian Y, Qin N, Cao S, Gao F. Reciprocal associations between shyness, self-esteem, loneliness, depression and Internet addiction in Chinese adolescents. Addiction Research & Theory. 2021;29(2):98-110.
17. Davis RA. A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Comput Human Behav. 2001;17(2):187-95.
18. Gu J, Wu P, Luo Y, He X, Fu L, Liu H, et al. Internet addiction, loneliness, and academic burnout among Chinese college students: a mediation model. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1176596.
19. Yi Z, Wang W, Wang N, Liu Y. The Relationship Between Empirical Avoidance, Anxiety, Difficulty Describing Feelings and Internet Addiction Among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model. J Genet Psychol. 2025:1-17.
20. Malakcioglu C. Emotional loneliness, perceived stress, and academic burnout of medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Psychol. 2024;15:1370845.
21. Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. Maslach burnout inventory: Scarecrow Education; 1997.
22. Zhang Y, Gan Y, Cham H. Perfectionism, academic burnout and engagement among Chinese college students: A structural equation modeling analysis. Pers Individ Dif. 2007;43(6):1529-40.
23. Lin S-H, Huang Y-C. Life stress and academic burnout. Active Learning in Higher Education. 2014;15(1):77-90.
24. Cheng X, Lin H. Mechanisms from Academic Stress to Subjective Well-Being of Chinese Adolescents: The Roles of Academic Burnout and Internet Addiction. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023;16:4183-96.
25. Tang L, Zhang F, Yin R, Fan Z. Effect of Interventions on Learning Burnout: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Psychol. 2021;12:645662.
26. Wang K, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang T, Luo J. The role of loneliness and learning burnout in the regulation of physical exercise on internet addiction in Chinese college students. BMC Public Health. 2023;23(1):1994.
27. Brand M, Wegmann E, Stark R, Müller A, Wölfling K, Robbins TW, et al. The Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model for addictive behaviors: Update, generalization to addictive behaviors beyond internet-use disorders, and specification of the process character of addictive behaviors. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019;104:1-10.
28. Shen X, Wang C, Chen C, Wang Y, Wang Z, Zheng Y, et al. Stress and Internet Addiction: Mediated by Anxiety and Moderated by Self-Control. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023;16:1975-86.
29. Zahrai K, Veer E, Ballantine PW, de Vries HP, Prayag G. Either you control social media or social media controls you: Understanding the impact of self‐control on excessive social media use from the dual‐system perspective. J Consum Aff. 2022;56(2):806-48.
30. Xu J, Tang L. The relationship between physical exercise and problematic internet use in college students: the chain-mediated role of self-control and loneliness. BMC Public Health. 2024;24(1):1719.
31. Herzog-Krzywoszanska R, Krzywoszanski L, Potoczny W. 234 Unraveling the Link: How Emotional Self-Regulation and Procrastination Affect Physical Activity. Eur J Public Health. 2024;34(Supplement_2):ckae114. 8.
32. Yue H, Yue X, Zhang X, Liu B, Bao H. Exploring the relationship between social exclusion and smartphone addiction: The mediating roles of loneliness and self-control. Front Psychol. 2022;13:945631.
33. Li S, Ren P, Chiu MM, Wang C, Lei H. The Relationship Between Self-Control and Internet Addiction Among Students: A Meta-Analysis. Front Psychol. 2021;12:735755.
34. Zhang C, Li G, Fan Z, Tang X, Zhang F. Psychological Capital Mediates the Relationship Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Learning Burnout in Chinese Medical Undergraduates and Postgraduates: A Cross-Sectional Study. Front Psychol. 2021;12:600352.
35. Sun Y, Wang Y, Yu H, Liu J, Feng X. The effect of physical activities on internet addiction in college students: the mediating effect of self-control. Front Psychol. 2025;16:1530740.
36. Qiu C, Qi Y, Yin Y. Multiple Intermediary Model Test of Adolescent Physical Exercise and Internet Addiction. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(5):4030.
37. Yilmaz R, Karaoglan Yilmaz FG. Problematic Internet use in Adults: The Role of Happiness, Psychological Resilience, Dispositional Hope, and Self-control and Self-management. J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther. 2022:1-19.
38. Jiang S, Jia Q, Peng Z, Zhou Q, Yi Q, An Z. Does Academic Burnout Alleviate or Exacerbate Internet Dependence in University Students with Depression and Anxiety? Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2024;20:2443-55.
39. Ko CH, Yen JY, Yen CF, Chen CC, Yen CN, Chen SH. Screening for Internet addiction: an empirical study on cut-off points for the Chen Internet Addiction Scale. Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2005;21(12):545-51.
40. Shamloo ZS, Hashemian SS, Khoshsima H, Shahverdi A, Khodadost M, Gharavi MM. Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Maslach burnout inventory (general survey version) in Iranian population. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2017;11(2):1-9.
41. Chen S-H, Weng L-J, Su Y-J, Wu H-M, Yang P-F. Development of a Chinese Internet addiction scale and its psychometric study. Chinese Journal of Psychology. 2003.
42. Ko C-H, Chen S-H, Wang C-H, Tsai W-X, Yen J-Y. The Clinical Utility of the Chen Internet Addiction Scale—Gaming Version, for Internet Gaming Disorder in the DSM-5 among Young Adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16.
43. Ko CH, Yen JY, Yen CF, Chen CC, Yen CN, Chen SH. Screening for Internet addiction: an empirical study on cut-off points for the Chen Internet Addiction Scale. Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2005;21(12):545-51.
44. Ko CH, Yen JY, Chen SH, Yang MJ, Lin HC, Yen CF. Proposed diagnostic criteria and the screening and diagnosing tool of Internet addiction in college students. Compr Psychiatry. 2009;50(4):378-84.
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| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 20 No 3 (2025) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Burnout Exercise Internet Addiction Loneliness Psychological Self-Control Students | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Heidari Z, Kianimoghadam AS, Masjedi-Arani A, Bakhtiari M. Investigating the Relationship between Loneliness, Physical Activity, and Internet Addiction: The Mediating Role of Academic Burnout and Self-Control. Iran J Psychiatry. 2025;20(3):330-345.
