Differences in the relationship between traumatic experiences, self-esteem, negative cognition, and Internet addiction symptoms among North Korean adolescent defectors and South Korean adolescents: A preliminary study

- North Korean adolescent defectors had higher trauma and Internet addiction (IA).
- North Korean defectors also had greater self-esteem and negative automatic thoughts.
- Self-esteem and negative thoughts were mediators in the relation of trauma and IA.
- Country of origin (North vs. South Korea) moderated the mediating effects.

North Korean adolescent defectors experience adaptation difficulties along with a wide range of psychosocial problems, but no study has yet examined their Internet addiction symptoms. We compared early traumatic experiences, self-esteem, negative cognition, and Internet addiction symptoms, as well as the relationships between these variables, between North Korean adolescent defectors and South Korean adolescents. Fifty-six North Korean adolescent defectors and 112 age- and sex- matched South Korean adolescents participated. The analyses examined the relationship between traumatic experiences and Internet addiction symptoms, with negative automatic thoughts or low self-esteem as mediators of these relations. North Korean adolescent defectors tended to have higher levels of negative automatic thoughts and more severe Internet addiction symptoms, as well as better self-esteem, than did South Korean adolescents. Furthermore, only among North Korean adolescent defectors, traumatic experiences were positively associated with Internet addition symptoms via increasing negative automatic thoughts. North Korean adolescent defectors are more susceptible to Internet addiction, negative cognitions, and early traumatic experiences compared to South Korean adolescents. However, the cross-sectional design of this study precludes consideration of the causality of these relationships. Interventions aiming to correct negative cognitions and increase self-esteem may be helpful for North Korean adolescent defectors with problematic Internet use.