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Original Research

INTERNET USE BEHAVIOR AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH: THE MEDIATING EFFECTS OF
SELF-EDUCATION EXPECTATIONS AND PARENTAL SUPPORT

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Authors Du W , Fan Z , Li D , Wu M

Received 12 November 2023

Accepted for publication 27 February 2024

Published 13 March 2024 Volume 2024:17 Pages 1163—1176

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S449353

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2

Editor who approved publication: Dr Gabriela Topa

Download Article [PDF]

Weiquan Du,1 Zhaoyuan Fan,1 Diankun Li,2 Mingshuang Wu1

1School of Sociology and Population Studies, Nanjing University of Posts and
Telecommunications, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Economics,
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, People’s Republic
of China

Correspondence: Weiquan Du, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Nanjing
University of Posts and Telecommunications, No. 9, Wenyuan Road, Nanjing City,
210023, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13451870628, Email duwq@njupt.edu.cn

Purpose: This study focuses on how Internet use behavior affects adolescents’
mental health and whether self-education expectations and parental support
mediate the relationship between Internet use behavior and adolescents’ mental
health.
Methods: The data for this paper came from the results of the student
questionnaire of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA
2018), which was a structured questionnaire that asked students about their
family situation, school life, studies, internet use, and mental health, among
other things. A sample of 336,600 children in grades 7– 13 was selected for this
study. The data were analyzed using STATA version 16 and the theoretical
framework was tested using a mediated effects model.
Results: The results of the study showed that Internet use behavior made a
positive contribution to mental health and the mediating effects of
self-education expectations and parental support on the relationship between
Internet use behavior and adolescent mental health were all significant.
Conclusion: It is recommended that appropriate policies should be formulated to
help adolescents use the Internet rationally, and the positive effects of
parental support and self-education expectations should be utilized.

Keywords: adolescent, mental health, internet use, self-education expectations,
parental support

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has become an indispensable part of people’s studies, work, and
life, due to the widespread use of Internet technology, and this is particularly
true for the youth. In 2022, 75% of the world’s 15–24 year olds will use the
Internet, ten percentage points higher than the rest of the population. In all
regions of the world, 15–24 year olds are more connected than older or younger
age groups.1 According to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 33% of school-age
children (3–17 year olds) would have access to the Internet at home globally
between 2010 and 2020, which meant that by 2020, one in three school-age
children would be an Internet user. The proportion of children with access to
the Internet at home is directly related to the income of the country in which
they live, with 86% of school-age children in high-income countries having
access to the Internet at home, 60% in middle-income countries, 14% in
lower-middle-income countries, and only 6% in low-income countries.2

Advances in Internet technology continue to change the way individuals live,
work, play, and socialize; although technological advances have made access to
information and communication easier, psychological problems associated with
Internet overuse continue to increase.3 Internet technology also affects minors,
and digital media are integrated into the daily lives of adolescents. The
Internet has potential benefits for their learning, physical and mental health,
and social life,4,5 as well as potential risks to adolescents’ mental health
status. A study based on 11 European countries showed that adolescents’
“Pathological Internet Use” was 4.4%, with some variation by country and gender,
and adolescents who lacked emotional and psychological support were at highest
risk.6 Smartphone use is one of the top contributing factors to internet
addiction,7 and the intensity of social media use has been associated with a
decline in adolescent mental health.8

Some studies have focused on the mechanisms of action affecting the relationship
between Internet use and mental health, such as the effect of parental
depression on adolescent cyber-addiction, mainly through adolescent stress,9 and
the mediating role of health anxiety between neuroticism and information
seeking.10 While some studies have further explored social media use in the
context of Internet use, little is known about the role of parental support in
social media use and adolescent depression and anxiety. The role of parents in
this association is necessary,11 and may impact adolescent mental health.12

The impact of the Internet on adolescent mental health has received extensive
attention from researchers, and most existing studies have simply explored the
relationship between Internet use and adolescent mental health. However, little
attention has been paid to the mediating mechanisms between the two. This study
focused on the relationship between adolescents’ Internet use behaviors,
self-education expectations, parental support, and mental health.

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTERNET USE AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

Many studies on Internet use and adolescents’ mental health focus on two
aspects: first, the impact of Internet use on mental health, including “Negative
Impact”, “Positive Impact” and “No Impact”; and second, the theoretical
explanation of this effect, including the displacement explanation, social
compensation theory, and the “Downward Spiral”.

The “Negative Impact Theory” suggests that Internet use is negatively correlated
with adolescent mental health in general. For example, compulsive Internet use,
excessive Internet use, and smartphones can lead to a deterioration in mental
health.13,14 Increased Internet technology use can lead to anxiety in
adolescents15,16 and increase the chances of depression.17,18 There are also
studies focusing on Internet use and individual traits of adolescent mental
health, such as gender differences and high-trait procrastination.19,20

The “Positive Impact Theory” suggests that Internet use has a positive impact on
adolescent mental health. For example, it has been argued that the positive and
negative aspects of social media use need to be rationally assessed.3 The use of
social media can be a useful way to promote adolescent mental health,21 and the
Internet offers many potential benefits for promoting adolescent health,22
through acquiring knowledge and finding information which predicts a healthy
lifestyle for adolescents.23

The “No Effect Theory” suggests that there is no effect of Internet use on
adolescent mental health; Jensen et al’s findings do not support the notion that
adolescent use of digital technology is associated with elevated mental health
symptoms.24 Holtz and Appel suggest that there is neither a correlation between
Internet use and social anxiety nor an association between them.25

There are three theoretical hypotheses as to why Internet use affects mental
health. The displacement explanation suggests that adolescent Internet use
reduces the amount of time spent on real-world activities, which are conducive
to mental health.26 The social compensation theory suggests that the use of
technology, such as the Internet, can compensate for deficits in social skills
among young people with mental health problems.27,28 There is a “Downward
Spiral” between adolescents’ avoidance behaviors and Internet use, with
avoidance leading to poorer mental health, and poorer mental health leading to
more avoidance behaviors.29

INTERNET USE AND EXPECTATIONS

Educational expectancy is related to Internet use. Research on the relationship
between adolescent Internet use and expectations has explored both the direct
relationship between the two variables and the intermediate mechanisms.

Students with lower expectations tend to spend more time playing computer
games.30 This is supported by a study that found a direct link between positive
expectations about video game use and the time spent playing,31 while negative
emotions resulting from excessive Internet use are tied to personal
expectations.32

Turning to the role of parents or in terms of intermediate mechanisms, high
parental expectations in Chinese children hinder excessive screen use and
encourage sedentary behavior related to academics.33 Parental expectations also
play a mediating role in the connection between problematic Internet use and
parental involvement.34 Additionally, maladaptive thoughts stemming from
parental expectations about academics influence how well adolescents can control
their online social interactions.35 Notably, the impact of online expectations
on online addiction surpasses the effects of attitudes toward online gaming and
online socialization. Therefore, the study indicates a higher indirect effect of
online expectations on online addiction compared to other factors.35

EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

Educational expectations are specific values determined by the perceived reality
faced by an individual, often considering their personal abilities and other
limitations.36 There are two competing conclusions in research on educational
expectations and adolescent mental health: first, educational expectations have
a negative impact on adolescent mental health, and second, educational
expectations do not affect adolescent mental health.

Existing research focuses on two manifestations of educational expectations that
affect mental health. First, educational expectations that were either too high
or too low affected adolescents’ mental health. Excessive parental expectations
are responsible for achievement-related mental health problems.37 Lower
educational expectations in adolescence are associated with a higher risk of
depression at the age of 40.38 Second, discrepancies in educational expectancies
can lead to mental health problems among adolescents. Adolescents with
aspiration-expectation discrepancy show more anxiety and mood problems,39 and
this discrepancy reduces the well-being of secondary school students.40 Chinese
children whose aspirations exceed expectations show lower self-esteem and higher
rates of depression.41 Left-behind children have worse mental health when their
parents’ educational expectations are higher than children’s educational
expectations.42

Some studies deny the impact of educational expectations on adolescent mental
health; for example, Reynolds and Baird found that adults who did not meet their
early educational expectations did not suffer psychological consequences.43
Research also showed that young women who become mothers experience less of an
impact of educational expectations on mental health.44

INTERNET USE AND PARENTAL SUPPORT

Parental support has been defined as “Parental praise, encouragement, and
physical affection that shows a child that he or she is accepted and loved”.45
Research on the relationship between Internet use and parental support has
yielded three conclusions: one is the positive effect of parental support on
adolescent Internet use, the second is the inhibitory effect of parental support
on problematic Internet use, and the third is that the variables of Internet use
and parental support are affected by transmission mechanisms.

In terms of positive effects, parents in the fast-paced context of technology
are particularly concerned about how to support their children through digital
learning.46 Adolescents who received more family support had a lower risk of
going online.47 Parental support is closely related to adolescents’ computer
self-efficacy.48 Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds received
slightly more supervision than those from poorer families.49

In terms of negative effects, parental support is one of the factors negatively
associated with the tendency toward smartphone addiction,50 with an increasing
number of children using the Internet without adult supervision,51 and a lack of
parental emotional support being significantly associated with an increase in
online gaming disorders and problematic cell phone use.52

Regarding the transmission mechanisms, parental support increases adolescent
self-esteem, which negatively affects problematic adolescent smartphone use.53
How parents deal with misbehavior is a significant predictor of excessive
Internet use in late adolescence, with the direction of the association
depending on the type and frequency of discipline.54 When parental support was
negatively associated with problematic Internet use, filial piety mediated this
relationship.55

PARENTAL SUPPORT AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

This research on parental support and adolescent mental health has two main
objectives: first, to demonstrate the importance of parental support for
adolescent mental health from both positive and negative perspectives, and
second, to explore the mechanisms between parental support and adolescent mental
health.

The first objective highlighted the importance of parental support. This
positive view suggests that parental support is beneficial for adolescent mental
health. Higher levels of parental support are associated with lower levels of
depression.56 Greater parental support is negatively associated with adolescent
mental stress.57 Parental support can moderate the effects of stressful
conditions on the mental health of adolescent sexual minorities,58 and protect
transgender adolescents from depression.59 The contrasting view is that
adolescents are at a high risk of mental health problems if parental support is
inadequate.60 A lack of emotional support is associated with poorer psychosocial
functioning in children.61 The lower the level of parental support perceived by
the child, the higher the risk of mental health problems.62

The second objective was to explore the mechanisms of action between parental
support and mental health. This mechanism focuses on the fact that parents
support adolescents’ increasing independence by expressing concern for their
children,63 which helps reduce their emotional distress.64 The relationship
between parental support and adolescent mental health problems is influenced by
other variables, such as parental unemployment affecting parental support for
adolescents and the reduced protective effect of parental support on health.65
School climate mediated the relationship between parental support and students’
psychological complaints.66

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Family Systems theory posits that the family is a hierarchically organized
system comprised of smaller subsystems (eg, parents, marriage, and siblings) but
also embedded in larger systems (eg, community) in which mothers, fathers, and
children interact with each other.67 The Self-Discrepancy theory refers to the
idea that individuals have an ideal self and an actual self,68 and that
differences between the two self-statements are associated with poor mental
health outcomes.69,70

Regarding the relationship between Internet use and mental health, there are
many valuable studies on the relationship between educational expectations and
adolescent mental health, and the relationship between parental involvement and
adolescent mental health. However, existing studies have focused more on the
negative effects of problematic Internet use on adolescent mental health,
ignoring the fact that Internet use behaviors may positively affect adolescent
mental health. In addition, few studies have explored whether other mediating
factors influence the relationship between Internet use behavior and
adolescents’ mental health, including parental support and self-education
expectations.

According to these two theories and existing research, Internet use behavior is
only one of the many factors affecting adolescent mental health, and in addition
to its direct influence, self-education expectations and parental support may be
mediating factors for both variables of Internet use and adolescent mental
health. Whether self-education expectations and parental support are affected by
Internet use, thereby reducing or strengthening the intensity of the Internet’s
influence on adolescent mental health, is an issue worth exploring. To fill the
gaps in existing studies, we developed the following mediating effect model
(Figure 1):

Figure 1 Conceptual framework.

To examine the relationship between Internet use, parental support,
self-education expectations, and adolescent mental health, we proposed the
following theoretical hypotheses based on the research framework:

H1: Internet use behaviors have a positive impact on adolescents’ mental health.

H2: Higher Internet use behaviors by adolescents lead to higher self-education
expectations. Self-education expectations mediate the relationship between
Internet use behavior and adolescents’ mental health.

H3: Parental support plays a mediating role between Internet use behavior and
adolescents’ mental health.

DATA, VARIABLES AND METHODS

DATA

The data for this study came from the PISA 2018 data of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development. The Program for International Student
Assessment (PISA) was developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) and is currently one of the world’s most influential and
wide-ranging assessments of international student learning; it aims to measure
the readiness of students near the end of compulsory education to meet the
challenges of today’s knowledge society. PISA2018 administers questionnaires in
79 countries and economies and assesses school students in grades 7–13, with
sample sizes ranging from 4500 to 10,000 students in each country and economy.
Student questionnaire data were used for this study, and 336, 600 student
questionnaire responses were selected from the final sample. The study received
ethics approval for survey and behavioral research from the Survey and
Behavioral Research Ethics Committee, School of Sociology and Population
Studies, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Ethics approval
number: 803/SBREC/SSPS/NJUPT/2023). Informed consent was obtained from the
respondents, and the questionnaire stated that the responses were anonymized,
and therefore, the respondents could not be personally identified.

MEASUREMENT

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

The PISA questionnaire measures the mental health status of adolescents using a
four-level Likert scale entitled “Think about yourself and how you usually feel:
how often do you feel the way you describe below?” The scale measures the
frequency of occurrence of the following emotions: “scared, miserable” for
negative emotions, “happy, lively” for positive emotions, etc. The options in
the scale are “never, rarely, sometimes, always”. Positive emotions were coded
positively, whereas negative emotions were coded negatively. Positive indicators
were assigned the following values: never =1, rarely =2, sometimes =3, always
=4. All negative indicators were assigned the following values: never =4, rarely
=3, sometimes =2, always =1. We summed the frequencies of various emotions to
synthesize the mean value for the indicator of mental health status. The
respondents’ scores for mental health status were in the range of one to four.
The higher the respondents’ scores, the better their mental health status.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

The core independent variable of this study is “internet use behavior” and the
frequency of Internet access is used to measure this variable. Related questions
in the questionnaire are “How often do you participate in the following
activities: reading emails, chatting online, reading online news, and
participating in online group discussions or forums?” Each of these activities
contains the following options, which are assigned the values: I do not know
what it is =0; Never or almost never =1; Several times a month =2; Several times
a week =3; Several times a day =4. Summing up these options and taking the
average, the respondents’ scores of Internet use were between one and five; the
higher the number, the higher the frequency of Internet use.

MEDIATING VARIABLES

One of the mediating variables is self-education expectations, which is usually
measured by asking adolescents the highest number of years of education they
wish to obtain in school.71 This study measured adolescents’ self-education
expectations with the question, “Which of the following do you hope to
accomplish?” The measurement of self-education expectations in the questionnaire
was based on the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) of
2011 developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). The response options and the assigned values, from lowest
to highest, were none =0, ISCED level 2 =1, ISCED level 3B or C =2, ISCED level
3A =3, ISCED level 4 =4, ISCED level 5B =5, ISCED level 5A, or 6 =6. The
respondents’ self-education expectation scores range from 0–6, and the higher
the score, the higher their expectations.

The second mediating variable was parental support, which was measured by the
question, “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements
this school year: ‘My parents support my academic endeavors and grades.’ ‘My
parents support me when I have trouble at school.’ ‘My parents encourage me to
be confident’”. The options are “strongly disagree”, “disagree” “agree” and
“strongly agree” each assigned the following values “strongly disagree =1”
“disagree =2” “agree =3” “strongly agree =4”. The scores for the three questions
were totaled and averaged, and the respondents’ scores for parental support were
in the range of one to four, with higher values indicating stronger parental
support.

CONTROL VARIABLES

There are several control variables in this study: gender (female= 0, male=1),
grade level, immigration status (non-immigrant=0, immigrant=1), parental
education level, and family educational resources. Parental education level was
defined as the highest level of education among the parents and assigned the
following values: Did not complete =1; ISCED level 1 =2; ISCED level 2 =3; ISCED
level 3B or 3C =4; and ISCED level 3A =5. Home educational resources were
measured using the following seven items: the availability of a desk, a quiet
study space, a computer for doing homework, classical literature, teaching aids,
dictionaries, art books, etc; yes =1, no =0; and the seven items were
accumulated to obtain the total score.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

This study used Stata16 for empirical analysis as follows: First, descriptive
statistics of the main variables were conducted. Second, a baseline regression
analysis of the effects of Internet use on adolescents’ mental health was
conducted. Third, a mediation effect model was used to test the mechanism of
self-education expectations and parental support in the influence of Internet
use on adolescents’ mental health. Fourth, to explore the influence of
adolescents’ family economic conditions, a heterogeneity analysis was conducted
based on the baseline regression.

RESULTS

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICAL RESULTS

The mean value of the participants’ mental health status was 2.974 (SD=0.452),
the mean value of the frequency of Internet use behaviors was 3.609 (SD=0.718),
the mean value of self-education expectations was 5.048 (SD=1.432), and the mean
value of parental support was 3.292 (SD=0.717); for more detailed descriptive
statistics, please refer to Table 1.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of the Sample

RESULTS OF MODEL TESTING

Table 2 presents the baseline regression model results. The results of Model (1)
show that without adding other variables, ordinary linear regression of
adolescents’ mental health with Internet use is significantly positive at the 1%
level, implying that the higher the frequency of Internet use, the better the
mental health of adolescents (β=0.042, P<0.01). Model (2) adds control variables
to Model (1) with the direction of the coefficients unchanged, implying that
after controlling for variables such as gender, grade level, migration, parents’
education, and family education resources, the positive effect of Internet use
on adolescents’ mental health is still significant (β=0.039, P<0.01). Models (1)
and (2) both control for country-fixed effects; the direction of the
coefficients remains the same, and the conclusions are somewhat robust. The
results in Table 2 validate H1, indicating that Internet use positively
contributes to adolescents’ mental health.

Table 2 Benchmark Regression Model

In this study, three approaches were used to conduct robustness tests. The first
approach was to replace the ordinary linear regression model with an ologit
model by converting the rounded mental health scores in the dependent variable
to a four-point scale of 1–4. We then converted the original continuous mental
health variables to discrete variables (1, 2, 3, 4), and used the ologit model
to conduct a robustness test, as shown in Model (3). The second approach was to
replace the ordinary linear regression model with a oprobit model, while still
converting the original continuous mental health variables to discrete variables
(1, 2, 3, and 4) and using the oprobit model to perform a robustness test, as
shown in model (4). The third way was to replace the independent variable of
Internet use behavior with Internet political participation, which includes
behaviors such as donating money, signing petitions, and contacting
politicians.72 This study used the questions “Do you participate in the
following activities: I sign environmental or social petitions online, I keep up
to date with world events through Twitter or Facebook, I often visit websites
about international social issues (eg, poverty, human rights)”. The options for
these three questions were assigned as yes =1 and no =0, and the values of the
three questions were summed up to 0, 1, 2, or 3, which represent the frequency
of political participation on the Internet from low to high, respectively. The
results are shown in Model (5) using an ordered regression model. The robustness
test results in Table 3 indicate that Internet use behavior significantly
promotes mental health, confirming the robustness of the regression results of
the benchmark regression model.

Table 3 Robustness Test

The above results show that adolescents’ Internet use behavior has a significant
positive effect on their mental health, but different family economic conditions
may influence this process differently. Therefore, based on the baseline
regression model, the researchers further conducted a sub-sample regression
taking into account different family economic conditions to explore the
heterogeneity of the impact of adolescents’ Internet use behavior on their
mental health under different family economic conditions. Table 4 presents the
empirical results of the heterogeneity analysis in the form of sub-samples. The
results of the heterogeneity analysis of Models (6)–(8) indicate that the degree
of mental health promotion by Internet use is inversely proportional to family
economic conditions, which implies that the economically disadvantaged group
benefited more from Internet use than youths with better family economic
conditions. A possible explanation for this is that better-off families have
more resources at their disposal, and youth are more likely to receive mental
stimulation from a number of different channels, such as socialization and
consumption, whereas less well-off families rely more on the Internet as a
lower-threshold way to receive more positive feedback.

Table 4 Heterogeneity Analysis

Table 5 presents the results of the mediated-effects model. Model (9) was used
to test the effect of Internet use behavior on adolescent mental health. The
results show that the positive effect of Internet use behavior on adolescents’
mental health is significant (β=0.039, P<0.01). Model (10) was used to test the
effect of Internet use behavior on adolescents’ self-education expectations. The
results showed that the positive effect of Internet use behavior on adolescents’
self-education expectations was significant (β=0.154, P<0.01). Model (11) tested
the effects of self-education expectations on adolescents’ mental health. The
results showed that the positive effect of self-education expectations on
adolescents’ mental health was significant (β=0.007, P<0.01). The coefficients
of Models (10) and (11) are all positive, and the mediating effect of
self-education expectations on adolescents’ Internet use behavior and mental
health is significant, which verifies the theoretical hypothesis of H2.

Table 5 Test of the Mediating Effect of Self-Education Expectations and Parental
Support

Model (12) in Table 5 was used to test the effect of Internet use behavior on
parental support. The results show that the positive effect of Internet use
behavior on parental support is significant (β=0.102, P<0.01). Model (13) was
used to test the effects of parental support on adolescents’ mental health. The
results showed that the positive effect of parental support on adolescent mental
health was significant (β=0.152, P<0.01). The coefficients of Models (12) and
(13) are positive, and the mediating effect of parental support on adolescents’
Internet use behavior and mental health is significant, verifying hypothesis H3.

DISCUSSION

Our study used PISA2018 data to validate the positive effects of Internet use
behavior on adolescent mental health. This study identified a research gap by
examining the mediating effects of self-education expectations and parental
support on the relationship between Internet use behavior and adolescent mental
health and established a new conceptual framework to bridge this gap. In
addition, Internet use behavior positively influenced self-education
expectations, while self-education expectations and parental support exerted a
mediating effect between Internet use behavior and adolescent mental health.

H1 was validated, indicating that adolescents’ mental health is associated with
the frequency of Internet use behavior, a finding that is inconsistent with
the “Negative Impact Theory” and more consistent with the “Positive Impact
Theory”. The relationship between Internet use and mental health is not
U-shaped, as postulated by existing research.73 This discrepancy in results may
be due to differences in the content of Internet use among adolescents. In this
study, Internet use behaviors such as reading emails, chatting, reading the
news, participating in online group discussions or forums, and searching for
practical information on the Internet were healthy lifestyle choices for
adolescents.23 These behaviors are completely different in nature from the
content of problematic Internet use, such as online gambling and games.
Therefore, when exploring the relationship between adolescents’ mental health
status and Internet use, not only is it important to examine the intensity of
adolescents’ use of the Internet, but there also needs to be a further breakdown
of the types of use and the Internet content they are exposed to, and an
assessment of the positive and negative impacts of adolescents’ use of the
Internet.3 Moderate use of digital technology is not inherently harmful, and in
the interconnected world may be beneficial.5 These benefits include avenues for
communication, creativity, and development.4

The theoretical hypothesis of H2 was validated by the empirical data in our
study, in which self-education expectations played a mediating role in the
relationship between Internet use behaviors and adolescent mental health. More
Internet use behaviors affect educational expectations, and the more positive
Internet use behaviors adolescents have, the more information they are able to
access through the Internet, which helps broaden their horizons and leads to
higher educational expectations. This finding is at odds with Holloway et al’s
study, which concluded that educational expectations are directly related to a
child’s academic performance,74 and that Internet overuse may be a cause of
academic burnout,75 which in turn lowers educational expectations. Different
purposes for Internet use can lead to different psychological states, and it is
important to consider the content of Internet use. Previous studies may have
focused more on “Problematic Internet Use” (eg, Internet addiction, Internet
gambling, etc), which may affect academic performance more,76 which in turn
reduces educational expectations. In the present study, Internet use behaviors
were found to have a positive effect on self-education expectations, as Internet
use behaviors were more positive in this study, thus positively affecting both
mental health and self-education expectations. Online learning and working had a
positive effect only on cognitive functioning and were not significantly related
to depression levels.77

H3 tested the hypothesis that parental support exerts a mediating effect on
Internet use behavior in adolescents’ mental health. This finding is consistent
with existing research, in which parental support was negatively associated with
children’s despair and depressive symptoms.78 For adolescent children, parental
support should also encompass how to properly guide and supervise their Internet
use. Parental mediation theory suggests that parents utilize different
interpersonal communication strategies to mediate and mitigate the negative
impact of the media on their children’s lives.79 A helpful role that parents can
play in adolescent Internet use is to provide resources.80 Parents should
prioritize the creation of a caring and supportive atmosphere in the home that
encourages children to disclose and self-regulate to prevent the onset of
Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) symptoms,81 and reduce the negative impact of
problematic Internet use on adolescents’ mental health.

CONCLUSION

This study tested the Family Systems and Self-Discrepancy Theories, proved that
Internet use behavior can have a positive effect on adolescent mental health,
and established a new theoretical framework to explain the relationship between
Internet use behavior, parental support, and adolescent mental health. This
study has both theoretical and practical implications.

In terms of theoretical value, our findings support Family Systems and
Self-Discrepancy theories. This finding implies that two variables, parental
support and self-education expectations, mediate the effect between Internet use
behavior and mental health. This finding provides theoretical support for future
research and helps to further explore the effects of Internet use on mental
health.

In terms of practical significance, Internet use in the digital era is an
unavoidable behavior for adolescents, and effective measures need to be taken
for Internet use to play a positive role and enhance adolescents’ mental health.
First, appropriate policies should be formulated to help adolescents to
rationally use the Internet. For example, parents should be educated about the
risks of online activities, and the criteria for dangerous and pathological use
of the Internet should be identified. These criteria should be adopted in the
Internet game rating system.82 Internet companies must guide adolescents
appropriately through technological means to use the Internet to improve their
mental health. For example, a fantasy role-playing game (SPARX) based on CBT for
depression is no less effective in treating depression than a therapist-led CBT
program.83 Second, parental support and self-education expectations played
positive roles. From the perspective of Family Systems theory, parental support
is valuable because it is negatively associated with problematic Internet use.52
Parents should pay attention to their children’s Internet use behaviors to
enhance their mental health. Parental support can help adolescents develop
emotionally close relationships with their parents, which contributes to their
positive academic representations of themselves.84 Parental support helps
adolescents establish reasonable educational expectations and reduces adverse
mental health outcomes. For those who are depressed because of the discrepancy
between their ideal and real selves, clinicians can encourage helpers to change
their selves.70

There are some limitations to this study. First, the age limitation of the
sample group, with only data from adolescents in grades 7–13 in each country, so
subsequent studies will have to further validate whether data from adolescents
in other age groups are consistent with this theoretical hypothesis. Second, the
data of this study are limited to 2018 only, and the consistency of the findings
in the long term must be verified; the next step needs to be further explored by
tracking the data over multiple years. Third, since the sample of this study’s
data did not report Internet use problems such as Internet addiction and
Internet pornography, the relationship between exposure to negative information
such as Internet pornography and adolescents’ mental health could not be
verified; further in-depth research on this relationship is expected.

DATA SHARING STATEMENT

The data can be found at https://www.oecd.org/pisa/.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China under
the project “Study on the digitization and intelligence of social governance at
the grassroots level.” (Project No. 21BSH046).

DISCLOSURE

The authors declare that this study was conducted in the absence of any
commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential
conflicts of interest.

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