How Childhood Abuse Influence Young Adults' Problematic Internet Use Across Time: Mediating Role of Sense of Belonging

ABSTRACT Although some studies have examined the relationship between childhood abuse and problematic internet use (PIU) and its influencing mechanisms, there is a scarcity of multi‐wave longitudinal research distinguishing between within‐person and between‐person levels. To address this gap, the present study simultaneously employed both the traditional cross‐lagged panel model (CLPM) and the random intercept cross‐lagged panel model (RI‐CLPM) to investigate the longitudinal relationships among childhood abuse, sense of belonging and PIU with university students. Using the cluster sampling method, 887 university students ( M age  = 18.32 years, SD = 0.70 years) participated in the study and were assessed 4 times across 2 years. The traditional CLPM and the RI‐CLPM converged in demonstrating that (1) childhood abuse can predict PIU across time; (2) sense of belonging plays a mediating role in the effect of childhood abuse on PIU across time; (3) the bidirectional relationship between sense of belonging and PIU is a vicious cycle mechanism in the effect of childhood abuse on PIU across time. These results provide important intervention implications for PIU.