Diathesis stress or differential susceptibility? testing the relationship between stressful life events, neuroticism, and internet gaming disorder among Chinese adolescents

Abstract

A previous study has documented that stressful life events is positively related to Internet gaming disorder (IGD) among adolescents. However, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. The current study examined whether the link between stressful life events and adolescent IGD was moderated by neuroticism and whether the interaction of stressful life events and neuroticism supported the diathesis stress model or differential susceptibility model. To this end, self-report questionnaires were distributed. Participants were 927 Chinese adolescents (meanage = 14.53 years, 51.02% male). After controlling for adolescent gender, age, family economic situation, and family socioeconomic status, the results revealed that stressful life events could be positively associated with adolescent IGD and that this link is moderated by neuroticism. Moreover, the results of interaction effects supported the "diathesis stress"model. The above findings contributed to a better understanding of how and when stressful life events increase the risk of IGD and provided new evidence for the diathesis stress hypothesis.