Comorbidity of Internet addiction and posttraumatic stress disorder among Chinese children and adolescents

Background Exposure to COVID-19 is linked with a set of common mental disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has demonstrated that PTSD is linked with addiction-related symptoms. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the linkage between PTSD symptoms and Internet addiction (IA) symptoms that have included a large sample of children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the comorbidity of IA and PTSD among a large sample of Chinese students exposed to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns by conducting a network analysis.