Internet gaming has become a primary form of entertainment for adolescents globally (Fam, 2018, Li et al., 2025). However, excessive engagement can lead to addictive behaviors (Griffiths et al., 2015). Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is characterized by a pattern of persistent and excessive engagement in online gaming activities that leads to clinically significant functional impairment or distress, thereby interfering with an individual’s daily life (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A growing body of research highlights the particular susceptibility of adolescents to IGD (e.g., Li et al., 2025, Müller et al., 2015), and it is now recognized as one of the most prominent behavioral addictions and a significant mental health concern for this demographic worldwide (Derevensky et al., 2019). While the global IGD prevalence averages approximately 3.3 % across all age groups (Kim et al., 2022), rates among Chinese adolescents reach 11.7 % (Gou et al., 2024), further underscoring the particular severity of this issue in Chinese adolescents. Long-term excessive gaming produces severe consequences, including insufficient sleep (Hawi et al., 2018, Zhang et al., 2024), impaired cognitive functioning, emotional dysregulation, and elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms (Brunborg et al., 2014, Kim et al., 2017, Wang et al., 2022). Given these elevated rates and severe outcomes, identifying the psychological mechanisms underlying IGD development among Chinese adolescents is imperative.

In response to this need, existing research has begun to explore various psychological factors, with perceived stress emerging as a key factor associated with IGD (e.g., Che et al., 2017, Rosenkranz et al., 2017). Academic, familial, and peer-related stressors elevate adolescents’ stress levels, potentially driving Internet gaming as a maladaptive coping mechanism (Hou et al., 2017). However, three critical gaps limit current understanding. First, the predominant reliance on cross-sectional designs (e.g., Che et al., 2017, Zhang et al., 2012) precludes examination of temporal and potentially bidirectional relations between perceived stress and IGD. Second, the mediating mechanisms explaining how perceived stress contributes to IGD remain largely unidentified. Third, research has disproportionately focused on college students (e.g., Velezmoro et al., 2010, Wang and Yang, 2023), despite adolescents showing both high gaming engagement (67.8 % of Chinese adolescents play online games; China Internet Network Information Center, 2023) and elevated problematic use rates (Gou et al., 2024, Long et al., 2018). To address these limitations, the present longitudinal study examines the bidirectional relations between perceived stress and IGD among Chinese adolescents, with depressive symptoms as a potential mediating mechanism. This investigation is essential for developing targeted prevention and intervention strategies for this high-risk population.

Perceived stress, defined as an individual’s appraisal of situations as exceeding their coping resources (Lazarus, 1986), has emerged as a critical antecedent of IGD. Drawing on the Compensatory Internet Use Theory (CIUT), adolescents experiencing heightened stress are more likely to engage in online gaming as a coping strategy to alleviate negative emotions (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014). Within this framework, perceived stress serves as the subjective psychological trigger that initiates the compensatory process (Jiang et al., 2024, Lazarus, 1986). Recent models extending CIUT confirm that stress directly activates these compensatory motivations (e.g., seeking relaxing entertainment), which in turn drive addictive behaviors (Hu & Huang, 2024). Empirical studies further support this relationship. Adolescents with higher levels of perceived stress report greater tendencies toward IGD, and this association has been consistently documented across cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs (e.g., Samaha and Hawi, 2016, Wu et al., 2018, Yen et al., 2019). Thus, CIUT establishes perceived stress as a key antecedent of IGD.

However, scholars have increasingly recognized that the relationship between perceived stress and IGD may be reciprocal. Specifically, problems arising from IGD, such as academic difficulties and interpersonal conflict, can generate additional stress, creating a self-reinforcing cycle (Jeong et al., 2019, Fazeli et al., 2020). This suggests a vicious cycle in which initial perceived stress leads to IGD, which in turn exacerbates perceived stress levels. Nevertheless, longitudinal evidence directly examining such bidirectional dynamics remains scarce. To address this gap, the present study investigates reciprocal associations between perceived stress and IGD among Chinese adolescents over time, thereby clarifying the pathways through which perceived stress contributes to IGD.

A substantial body of research establishes a clear directional pathway from perceived stress to depressive symptoms among adolescents (e.g., Fu et al., 2022, Wang et al., 2024). The accumulation of stress can overwhelm adolescents’ coping resources, leading to feelings of sadness, helplessness, and anhedonia, which constitute the core components of depressive symptoms (Leung et al., 2024, Phillips et al., 2023). Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that this relation may also be bidirectional. The cognitive biases and maladaptive behaviors associated with depressive symptoms, such as the tendency to negatively appraise neutral events, may cause adolescents to perceive their environment as more stressful, thus perpetuating a cycle of psychological distress (Beck, 1967, Seeds and Dozois, 2010).

Building on the cyclical relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms, we further argue that depressive symptoms can impact IGD. The CIUT provides a theoretical foundation for this relation, positing that individuals use engaging online activities, such as gaming, to cope with or escape from persistent dysphoric moods and negative emotions (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014). According to the CIUT, the development of IGD follows a compensatory process wherein negative emotional states create the psychological need for relief, which gaming activities are intended to fulfill. Depressive symptoms, characterized by persistent sadness, hopelessness, and anhedonia, represent specific negative affective states that drive individuals to seek compensatory behaviors (She et al., 2024). Gaming thus offers an immediate and accessible way to alleviate distressing emotions through escapism, achievement, and social connection in virtual environments (Wartberg et al., 2018). This compensatory mechanism helps clarify why depressive symptoms consistently predict IGD development. Specifically, the more severe the depressive symptoms, the stronger the motivation to seek relief through gaming, thereby increasing the risk of developing IGD. Empirical evidence supports this compensatory pathway, with longitudinal research demonstrating that baseline depressive symptoms significantly increase the likelihood of developing IGD over a one-year follow-up (Jo et al., 2017).

Drawing from these established pathways, we propose that depressive symptoms act as a critical mediating mechanism linking perceived stress to IGD among adolescents. In this mediation framework, perceived stress serves as a distal risk factor that triggers depressive symptoms, which, in turn, trigger compensatory gaming behaviors (i.e., IGD) as a proximal outcome (Wang et al., 2024, Jeong et al., 2019). This sequential model posits that adolescents who perceive high levels of stress exhibit greater vulnerability to developing depressive symptoms, which in turn increases their susceptibility to IGD.

Furthermore, once established, the relationship between depressive symptoms and IGD may become bidirectional, consistent with the CIUT framework (Kardefelt-Winther, 2014). Initially, gaming provides temporary relief from depressive feelings; however, as IGD develops, its negative consequences, including impaired social relationships, academic failures, and neglect of self-care, can become significant sources of stress and failure, thereby exacerbating underlying depressive symptoms (Jeong, Yim, et al., 2019). This creates a reinforcing cycle in which depressive symptoms drive escapist gaming, and the consequences of IGD further intensify the depressive symptoms it was intended to alleviate. Indeed, longitudinal studies suggest that depressive symptoms and IGD can develop into a mutually reinforcing cycle over time (Braet et al., 2022, Gentile et al., 2011, Sugaya et al., 2021). Understanding these dynamic relationships remains crucial for developing effective interventions.

While prior research has linked perceived stress to IGD (e.g., Che et al., 2017, Rosenkranz et al., 2017), there has been limited systematic examination of the longitudinal dynamics and mediating mechanisms in this relationship. To address these gaps, the present study employs a three-wave cross-lagged panel design to investigate the complex associations among perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and IGD in a sample of Chinese adolescents over 12 months. Specifically, we use the cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) to examine between-person effects by testing whether adolescents who report higher levels of one variable at a given time point, relative to other adolescents, tend to experience higher levels of another variable at subsequent time points. Based on the literature reviewed above, we formulated the following between-person hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that perceived stress and IGD would be reciprocally and positively related over time. Second, we hypothesized that perceived stress and depressive symptoms would be reciprocally and positively related over time. Third, we hypothesized that depressive symptoms and IGD would also be reciprocally and positively related over time. Finally, we hypothesized that depressive symptoms would mediate the longitudinal relationship from perceived stress to IGD. By clarifying these complex longitudinal dynamics, this study aims to provide empirical evidence to inform the development of more targeted and effective interventions designed to prevent and treat IGD by addressing perceived stress and depressive symptoms as key modifiable risk factors.