Evening chronotype and internet addiction in university students: the mediating role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms

Introduction: Problematic internet use is common among university students, and circadian preference may contribute to vulnerability. Evening chronotype has been linked to late sleep–wake timing, prolonged digital media exposure and neurobehavioural traits related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether ADHD symptoms explain the association between chronotype and internet addiction remains unclear.

Aim: This study examined the association between evening chronotype and internet addiction severity in university students and tested whether ADHD symptoms mediated this relationship.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a public university in Türkiye during the 2021–2022 academic year. A total of 314 undergraduate students completed a sociodemographic form, the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), and the Young Internet Addiction Test–Short Form (YIAT-SF). Group differences were examined using chi-square, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests, as appropriate. Multiple linear regression was used to identify variables associated with internet addiction scores. Mediation was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.

Results: The final sample included 314 students. The mean age was 21.72 ± 2.23 years, and 58.5% of participants were female. Most participants owned a smartphone (99.7%) and had internet access at home (82.6%). Daily internet use outside class hours was most frequently 2–4 hours (41.5%), followed by 4–6 hours (24.7%). Chronotype distribution was evening type in 36 students (11.4%), intermediate type in 206 (65.2%), and morning type in 74 (23.4%). Evening-type students reported longer daily internet use than intermediate and morning types (χ² = 30.337, p = 0.001) and had higher internet addiction scores (Kruskal–Wallis H = 18.406, p < 0.001). They also had significantly higher ASRS total, Part A, and Part B scores, with ASRS total scores differing across chronotype groups (Kruskal–Wallis H = 14.847, p = 0.001). MEQ scores were negatively correlated with YIAT-SF scores (r = -0.255, p < 0.001), while ASRS total scores were positively correlated with YIAT-SF scores (r = 0.560, p < 0.001). In regression analysis, evening chronotype was independently associated with higher internet addiction scores (B = 4.357, 95% CI 1.558 to 7.155, β = 0.164, p = 0.002), while ASRS total score was a positive correlate (B = 0.439, 95% CI 0.366 to 0.512, β = 0.552, p < 0.001). The model explained 35.6% of the variance in internet addiction scores. Mediation analysis showed that ADHD symptoms partially mediated the association between evening chronotype and internet addiction (indirect effect: β = 0.100, p = 0.001), while the direct effect remained significant (β = 0.122, p = 0.020).

Conclusions: Evening chronotype was associated with greater internet addiction severity in university students, and this association was partially explained by ADHD symptoms. These cross-sectional findings suggest that circadian preference and ADHD-related traits may help identify a subgroup with greater vulnerability to problematic internet use.

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