ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1510630
This article is part of the Research TopicYouth Mental Health, Particularly in Asian PopulationsView all 77 articles
The association between Alexithymia and Internet Addiction Disorder in a large sample of Chinese Undergraduates: the role of Sexual Assault Experiences
Provisionally accepted
- 1International Medical College of Chongqing Medical University, Yuzhong, Chongqing, China
- 2School of Education and Psychology, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3Faculty of Mathematics, Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, China
- 4Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 5Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 6School of Public Health, West China Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Objective: While a positive association between alexithymia and Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has been established, previous studies are often limited by small sample sizes, lack of representative populations, and insufficient attention to intra-group differences, such as the impact of experiences like sexual assault.Method: Anonymous questionnaires assessing alexithymia and IAD were distributed to approximately 11,000 university students across six institutions in Southwest China, resulting in 7,890 valid responses. In addition to measures of alexithymia and IAD, data were also collected on experiences of sexual assault, psychological distress, and a range of sociodemographic variables.Results:Alexithymia was directly associated with IAD (r= 0.40), and past experiences of sexual assault were found to exacerbate the negative impact of alexithymia on IAD symptoms, even after controlling for psychological distress and gender. Individuals who had experienced sexual assault reported significantly higher levels of alexithymia, psychological distress, and IAD compared to those who had not.To address the high prevalence of IAD among college students, it is essential to screen for difficulties in emotional identification and expression, and to provide support for improving these skills. Targeted interventions are especially important for vulnerable groups, such as survivors of sexual assault, to help reduce the risk of IAD. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further explore these relationships.
Keywords: sexual assault experiences, alexithymia, Internet addiction disorder, undergraduates, Moderation
Received: 13 Oct 2024; Accepted: 29 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qiu, Hu, Lu, Wu and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wanjie Tang, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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