Perceptions of School Climate and Internet Gaming Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Mediating Effect of Deviant Peer Affiliation

Adolescent internet gaming addiction (IGA) has become a serve public health problem, particularly in China. Despite the fact that the school climate has a significant impact on teenage IGA, little research has looked into the underlying mediating processes. This cross-sectional study looked at the impact of adolescents’ perceptions of their school climate (including teacher–student support, student–student support, and opportunities for autonomy) on IGA in a sample of 1053 Chinese adolescents (Mean(age) = 13.52 years; 52.4% females) using convenient sampling methodology, as well as whether deviant peer affiliation mediated this association. Adolescents’ school climate, IGA, and deviant peer affiliation were examined using the School Climate Questionnaire, Internet Gaming Addiction Scale, and two validated tools in this study. The results showed that teacher–student support and student–student support were both negatively associated with IGA, and that these correlations were mediated by deviant peer affiliation. The implications of these findings are discussed.