The Mediating Effect of Internet Addiction in The Association Between Adolescent Bully-Victims and Sleep Disorders

Abstract

Objective: an investigation was carried out to study the relationship between bully-victims and sleep disorders among adolescents, focusing on elucidating the mediating effect of internet addiction in the association between these two variables. Methods: a cross-sectional study was performed, drawing on data from the adolescent health database (dyh), which included 21,824 junior and senior high school students. Data on sleep duration, internet use behaviors, and exposure to bully-victims were gathered through self-reported questionnaires. Binary logistic regression models were employed to discuss the relationship between bullying and sleep disorders, while a single-mediator model was applied to investigate the mediating effect of internet addiction. Confounding factors, including gender, age, household economic status, as well as paternal educational level were controlled for during the analyses. Results: the study findings indicated that the prevalence of sleep disorders within the adolescent sample was identified at 43.1%, while 12.5% of the participants reported experiencing bullying, and 2.7% met the criteria for internet addiction. Analyses demonstrated that among adolescents whose average nightly sleep amounted to fewer than 8 hours, females, older individuals, those with poorer family and interpersonal relationships, and those with lower self-rated health were found to be at significantly elevated risks of both bully-victims and internet addiction. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that, before adjusting for confounding factors, bullying victims exhibited an odds ratio (or) of 1.16 (95% ci: 1.02–1.27, p = 0.023) for sleep disorders. Upon incorporating covariates including gender, age, household economic status, and paternal educational level into the model, this effect was still discovered to be significant (or = 1.10, 95% ci: 1.08–1.25, p = 0.016). Furthermore, a notable interaction between bully-victims and gender was detected concerning the risk of sleep disorders after confounder adjustment (or = 1.15, 95% ci: 1.05–2.41, p = 0.005). The analysis utilizing a single-mediator model analysis demonstrated that internet addiction significantly mediated the relationship between bully-victims and sleep disorders, as evidenced by a standardized mediating effect value of 0.076, constituting 11.4% of the total effect. Conclusion: the relationship between bully-victims and sleep disorders among adolescents is significantly mediated by internet addiction, which further exacerbates mental health issues. Strengthening mental health education, mitigating bullying behaviors, and monitoring internet use patterns could prevent sleep disorders and mitigate associated risks. In future research, the causal mechanisms underlying these relationships should be elucidated, and targeted interventions developed accordingly.