Objectives: With the rapid development of digital technology, the risk of internet addiction among adolescents has increased. However, the influence mechanism of emotional eating behavior on internet addiction remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association pathway of emotional eating on internet addiction in junior high school students and test the chain-mediating effects of sleep quality (sleep quality was measured using the PSQI, with higher scores indicating poorer sleep quality) and depression. Methods: Based on data from 3245 junior high school students in Shenzhen, China, internet addiction was measured using Young’s questionnaire, and emotional eating was assessed via the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire’s subscale. The PROCESS macro (Model 6) was used to test the chain-mediating effects. Results: Emotional eating was positively but modestly associated with internet addiction (β = 0.024, p < 0.01). Three significant mediating pathways were identified: (1) emotional eating → sleep quality → internet addiction (β = 0.0062, 14.52% of total effect); (2) emotional eating → depression → internet addiction (β = 0.0084, 19.67%); and (3) emotional eating → sleep quality → depression → internet addiction (β = 0.0041, 9.60%). Conclusions: Based on cross-sectional data, this study found that emotional eating is associated with internet addiction through the independent and chain-mediating effects of sleep quality and depression, revealing a statistical mediation pathway of “maladaptive emotion regulation → circadian disruption → psychopathology → addictive behavior.” These findings provide a basis for interventions targeting sleep management and emotional regulation.
Li et al. (Sat,) studied this question.