Internet addiction and interpersonal sensitivity among choral performers: cross-sectional indirect associations through critical thinking and retrospectively reported music performance anxiety

Choral singing combines musical performance with continuing social interaction. This study examined cross-sectional associations among internet addiction (IA), critical thinking (CT), retrospectively reported music performance anxiety (MPA), and maladaptive interpersonal sensitivity (IS) in participants with recent choral experience. A survey of 932 Chinese participants assessed IA, CT, recalled anxiety during the most recent choral performance or choir-related audition, and SCL-90 IS. Latent-variable structural equation modeling estimated direct and specific indirect associations while adjusting for age, gender, education, and income. Higher IA was associated with lower CT (standardized β = −0.265) and higher MPA (β = 0.382). Three specific indirect associations with IS were observed: IA → CT → IS (0.039, 95% CI [0.021, 0.065]); IA → MPA → IS (0.132, 95% CI [0.095, 0.174]); and IA → CT → MPA → IS (0.014, 95% CI [0.007, 0.026]). The MPA-only path accounted for 71.4% of the total indirect association; the complete sequential path accounted for 7.6%. The data were compatible with the specified model, and the largest indirect association involved recalled performance anxiety. Cross-sectional measurement and limited documentation of content validation for the adapted MPA instrument preclude conclusions about temporal mediation or choir-specific causal mechanisms.