Background: In recent years, the issue of problematic Internet pornography use (PIPU) among adolescents has become increasingly prominent, attracting widespread attention from society. Family functioning has been recognized as a protective factor for PIPU, but the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study is (a) to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between family functioning and PIPU, and (b) to examine the moderating role of the need to belong in this mediating pathway.
Methods: A total of 771 high school students ( = 16.19, = 0.90) were surveyed using the Problematic Internet Pornography Use Scale, Family Assessment Device, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Need to Belong Scale.
Results: Correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between family functioning and PIPU ( = -0.25, < 0.001), a significant positive correlation between self-esteem and family functioning ( = 0.38, < 0.001), a significant negative correlation between self-esteem and PIPU ( = -0.24, < 0.001), and a significant positive correlation between need to belong and PIPU ( = 0.16, < 0.01). Mediation analysis showed that self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between family functioning and PIPU, with a mediation effect of -0.06. Further moderated mediation analysis showed that for adolescents with higher need to belong, the mediating effect of self-esteem was stronger.
Conclusions: For adolescents with high belonging needs who are at high risk for PIPU, good family functioning may have a protective effect by boosting self-esteem.
