Social Exclusion, Self-Forgiveness, Mindfulness, and Internet Addiction in College Students: a Moderated Mediation Approach

Internet addiction is a growingly prevalent behavioral addiction that causes numerous psychosocial problems. Investigating the causes and consequences of Internet addiction is fundamental to comprehend and prevent it. Therefore, the current study provided protective and promotive factors for undesired effects of social exclusion on Internet addiction. The study examined a moderated mediation model to test whether mindfulness moderated the mediating role of self-forgiveness in the association between social exclusion and Internet addiction among young adults. The participants of the present study included 358 undergraduate students attending a state university in Turkey. They ranged in age from 20 to 28 years (M = 21.89, SD = 1.95). The participants comprised 206 (57.5%) female and 152 (42.5%) male college young adults. Overall, the study findings indicated that self-forgiveness mediated the relationship between social exclusion and Internet addiction, and mindfulness moderated the mediating role of self-forgiveness in this association. Contending with negative outcomes of social exclusion and Internet addiction, and mitigating and buffering roles of self-forgiveness and mindfulness provide important implications to design prevention and intervention services for reducing Internet-related addictive behaviors.