Hierarchical linear analysis of the impact of class context on Internet addiction among middle school students

Objective To explore the effects of class context on Internet addiction and provide evidence for the Internet addiction intervention.Methods A total of 2 898 middle school students from Wuhan and Macheng were surveyed by using of cluster sampling and were asked to fill the following scales:Internet use questionnaire,strengths and difficulties questionnaire(Kids),and adolescent quality of life questionnaire.Data were analyzed about the influencing factors of Internet addiction by hierarchical linear modeling.Results It was found that gender,attention deficit/hyperactivity,peer problems and adolescent quality of life had effects on Internet addiction at the student level while emotional disorder and conduct disorder had cross-level Interaction effects on Internet addiction both at student and class level.Anymore,adolescent quality of life and peer problems had negative effects on Internet addiction.Conclusion It is suggested that class context should not be neglected when studying the factors of Internet addiction among middle-school students.