Childhood Trauma and Psychological Sub-Health Among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Effect of Internet Addiction

Background. The factors related to psychological sub-health (PSH) have been widely described, but the research on the mechanism behind the complex relationship between childhood trauma and PSH is limited. This study investigated the current situation and risk factors of PSH among Chinese adolescents, and explores the direct influence of childhood trauma on PSH. And hypothesizes that Internet addiction (IA) plays a mediating effect between childhood trauma and PSH. Methods . The mental health survey was conducted in China's Anhui Province in October 2020. Childhood trauma, IA and PSH were measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Multidimensional Sub-health Questionnaire of Adolescent (MSQA). Our hypothesis is further verified by the structural equation model (SEM). Results. In this study, 866 adolescents were selected as subjects, the prevalence of PSH in adolescents was 25.8%, and left-behind children, boarding or adolescents who have had non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are more likely to have PSH. In addition, 57.5% and 23.2% of the participants reported childhood trauma and IA, both of which had a direct impact on PSH and increased the risk of PSH by about 2 times (OR=1.95, CI=1.32~2.89, P < 0. 01) and 5 times (OR=5.20, CI=3.55~7.60, P < 0. 01), respectively. The SEM showed that the fitting condition of the model is good (CMIIN/DF = 1.139, GFI=0.998, TLI=0.999, CFI=1.00, RMSEA=0.013). The SEM results revealed that childhood trauma predicted PSH directly or indirectly through IA. IA has been confirmed to have partial mediating effects between childhood trauma and PSH. Conclusions. Childhood trauma has direct and indirect effects on PSH, and IA plays a mediating role in the indirect effect. Therefore, clarifying these relationships is helpful in formulating and implement effective interventions to improve psychological health (PH) in Chinese adolescents.