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Background <p>The ubiquity of digital technology has precipitated a rise in Problematic Internet Use (PIU), posing severe risks to college students’ psychosocial well-being, particularly by inducing social withdrawal.</p> Aims <p>Grounded in the I-PACE model and Self-Determination Theory, this study investigated whether learning engagement mediates the relationship between PIU and social withdrawal, and examined the boundary conditions of this mechanism via demographic moderators.</p> Method <p>A cross-sectional survey was administered to 2034 Chinese college students. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 resamples) was employed to test mediation, and Multi-Group SEM (MG-SEM) was used to assess structural invariance.</p> Results <p>PIU demonstrated a robust positive association with social withdrawal (<i>r</i> = .619,<i>p</i>&lt;.001r = 0.619,<i>p</i>&lt;.001) and a significant negative association with learning engagement (<i>r</i> = − .213,<i>p</i>&lt;.001r = − 0.213,<i>p</i>&lt;.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that learning engagement partially mediated the link between PIU and social withdrawal. Crucially, moderation analysis revealed that this structural mechanism is not uniform; it was significantly moderated by gender (Δχ2 = 26.886, <i>p</i>&lt;.001 Δχ2 = 26.886, <i>p</i>&lt;.001) and grade level (Δχ2 = 17.297, <i>p</i>=.008 Δχ2 = 17.297, <i>p</i>=.008). Conversely, the model exhibited structural invariance across residence (Urban/Rural) and binary grouping variables, indicating cross-group stability for these factors.</p> Conclusions <p>These findings suggest that PIU fosters social withdrawal by depleting students’ learning engagement. The study identifies learning engagement as a pivotal intervention target and underscores the necessity of culturally and demographically tailored strategies—specifically adjusting for gender and academic stage—to alleviate the “digital isolation” of contemporary college students.</p>

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Learning engagement mediates the association between problematic internet use and social withdrawal among Chinese college students

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月19日

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  • Xunni Zhou,
  • Muhammad Syawal Amran,
  • Yijia Tang,
  • Shahlan Surat,
  • Hao Yin

摘要

Background

The ubiquity of digital technology has precipitated a rise in Problematic Internet Use (PIU), posing severe risks to college students’ psychosocial well-being, particularly by inducing social withdrawal.

Aims

Grounded in the I-PACE model and Self-Determination Theory, this study investigated whether learning engagement mediates the relationship between PIU and social withdrawal, and examined the boundary conditions of this mechanism via demographic moderators.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was administered to 2034 Chinese college students. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 resamples) was employed to test mediation, and Multi-Group SEM (MG-SEM) was used to assess structural invariance.

Results

PIU demonstrated a robust positive association with social withdrawal (r = .619,p<.001r = 0.619,p<.001) and a significant negative association with learning engagement (r = − .213,p<.001r = − 0.213,p<.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that learning engagement partially mediated the link between PIU and social withdrawal. Crucially, moderation analysis revealed that this structural mechanism is not uniform; it was significantly moderated by gender (Δχ2 = 26.886, p<.001 Δχ2 = 26.886, p<.001) and grade level (Δχ2 = 17.297, p=.008 Δχ2 = 17.297, p=.008). Conversely, the model exhibited structural invariance across residence (Urban/Rural) and binary grouping variables, indicating cross-group stability for these factors.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that PIU fosters social withdrawal by depleting students’ learning engagement. The study identifies learning engagement as a pivotal intervention target and underscores the necessity of culturally and demographically tailored strategies—specifically adjusting for gender and academic stage—to alleviate the “digital isolation” of contemporary college students.