Generalised anxiety as a mediator linking ADHD symptoms and autistic traits to digital addictions in Australian emerging adults
- 1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland
Abstract
Background and aimsDigital addiction is highly prevalent among emerging adults and is associated with significant detrimental health outcomes. Through the lens of the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and autistic traits may increase vulnerability to digital addictions both directly through executive functioning deficits and indirectly through affective-cognitive processes such as anxiety. This study estimated whether internet, mobile phone, and video game addictions were represented by a common latent construct, estimated the associations of ADHD symptoms, autistic traits, generalised anxiety, and participant sex with these addictions, and estimated the extent to which anxiety mediated associations of ADHD symptoms and autistic traits with these addictions.
DesignCross-sectional observational study.
SettingOnline survey conducted at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
ParticipantsThe analyses included 222 emerging adults aged 17-29 years (77.0% female) recruited between July and October 2015.
MeasurementsThe primary outcomes were the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), and Video Game Addiction Test (VAT). Predictors included the Autism Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-10), Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1 screener (ASRS-S), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and participant sex.
FindingsInternet, mobile phone, and video game addictions were not well represented by a single latent construct. GAD-7 was positively associated with AQ-10 (B = 0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.04, 0.37], p = .020) and ASRS-S (B = 0.54, CI [0.38, 0.70], p < .001). GAD-7 was positively associated with VAT (B = 0.63, CI [0.23, 1.00], p = .003), but neither IAT nor MPPUS. ASRS-S showed positive direct effects across IAT (B = 0.56, CI [0.08, 0.99], p = .024), MPPUS (B = 2.63, CI [1.06, 4.08], p < .001), and VAT (B = 0.41, CI [0.06, 0.78], p = .024), and a small-to-moderate positive indirect effect on VAT through GAD-7 (B = 0.35, CI [0.12, 0.60], p = .013). Sex did not moderate the associations between GAD-7 and digital addictions. Females reported higher MPPUS (B = 13.16, CI [6.17, 19.69], p < .001) and lower VAT (B = -5.22, CI [-7.00, -3.48], p < .001) scores than males.
ConclusionsAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms were associated with all three forms of digital addiction and showed an indirect association with video game addiction through generalised anxiety, consistent with the proposed mechanisms in the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model.
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BibTeX
@misc{giblett2026generalised,
title = {{Generalised anxiety as a mediator linking ADHD symptoms and autistic traits to digital addictions in Australian emerging adults}},
author = {M. J. Giblett and C. Jaklich and B. Andrew and P. A. Lind},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.06.26362218},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.26362218v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Generalised anxiety as a mediator linking ADHD symptoms and autistic traits to digital addictions in Australian emerging adults
AU - M. J. Giblett
AU - C. Jaklich
AU - B. Andrew
AU - P. A. Lind
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/06
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.06.26362218
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.06.26362218v1
AB - Background and aimsDigital addiction is highly prevalent among emerging adults and is associated with significant detrimental health outcomes. Through the lens of the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and autistic traits may increase vulnerability to digital addictions both directly through executive functioning deficits and indirectly through affective-cognitive processes such as anxiety. This study estimated whether internet, mobile phone, and video game addictions were represented by a common latent construct, estimated the associations of ADHD symptoms, autistic traits, generalised anxiety, and participant sex with these addictions, and estimated the extent to which anxiety mediated associations of ADHD symptoms and autistic traits with these addictions. DesignCross-sectional observational study. SettingOnline survey conducted at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. ParticipantsThe analyses included 222 emerging adults aged 17-29 years (77.0% female) recruited between July and October 2015. MeasurementsThe primary outcomes were the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS), and Video Game Addiction Test (VAT). Predictors included the Autism Spectrum Quotient-10 (AQ-10), Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1 screener (ASRS-S), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and participant sex. FindingsInternet, mobile phone, and video game addictions were not well represented by a single latent construct. GAD-7 was positively associated with AQ-10 (B = 0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.04, 0.37], p = .020) and ASRS-S (B = 0.54, CI [0.38, 0.70], p < .001). GAD-7 was positively associated with VAT (B = 0.63, CI [0.23, 1.00], p = .003), but neither IAT nor MPPUS. ASRS-S showed positive direct effects across IAT (B = 0.56, CI [0.08, 0.99], p = .024), MPPUS (B = 2.63, CI [1.06, 4.08], p < .001), and VAT (B = 0.41, CI [0.06, 0.78], p = .024), and a small-to-moderate positive indirect effect on VAT through GAD-7 (B = 0.35, CI [0.12, 0.60], p = .013). Sex did not moderate the associations between GAD-7 and digital addictions. Females reported higher MPPUS (B = 13.16, CI [6.17, 19.69], p < .001) and lower VAT (B = -5.22, CI [-7.00, -3.48], p < .001) scores than males. ConclusionsAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms were associated with all three forms of digital addiction and showed an indirect association with video game addiction through generalised anxiety, consistent with the proposed mechanisms in the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model.
ER -