Previous findings show that relative deprivation has a profound influence on game addiction, but the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms are unclear, especially for left-behind children. The present study therefore examined the relationship between relative deprivation and game addiction, the mediating effect of deviant peer affiliation, and the moderating effect of beliefs about adversity in a sample of left-behind children. A total of 952 left-behind children (mean age = 13.67 years, SD = 1.34) participated in this study. The participants anonymously completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Relative Deprivation Scale, the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale, the Beliefs about Adversity Scale, the Game Addiction Scale, and demographic variables. After controlling for gender, left-behind category, and socioeconomic status, the moderated mediation model showed that (a) relative deprivation significantly and positively predicted game addiction in left-behind children; (b) The mediation analysis showed that the positive association between relative deprivation and game addiction in left-behind children was mediated by deviant peer affiliation; (c) Beliefs about adversity moderated the association between relative deprivation and deviant peer affiliation and were weaker for left-behind children with higher levels of beliefs about adversity, consistent with the risk-buffering model, but the relationship between relative deprivation and game addiction was stronger for left-behind children with higher levels of beliefs about adversity, consistent with the reverse risk-buffering model. These findings have crucial implications for the prevention and intervention of game addiction in left-behind children.

Background: During the long–time home quarantine due to COVID–19, preschool-age children can be easily stricken by negative emotions, which give rise to aggressive behaviors. Aggressive behaviors are of different types at the preschool stage. We aimed to investigate the differences of emotion regulation strategies among children age 3–6 yr old with different aggression types and explore the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and aggressive behaviors. Methods: The aggressive behaviors of 1,187 children sampled (event sampling method) from 5 kindergartens in five cities in Henan Province of China were observed on the spot in 2020. Three aggression types (i.e., physical, verbal, and indirect) were selected to conduct a questionnaire survey on emotion regulation strategies and discuss the differences among aggressive children in emotion regulation strategies. Results: Children of different genders are significantly different in aggressive behaviors and problem solving, as well as children at different age levels in self–comfort, passive reaction, and negative regulation strategies. Significant interaction exists between gender and aggression but not in negative regulation strategy; significant interaction also exists between age and aggression but not in cognitive reconstruction, substitutive activity, and aggressive behavior. Significant differences exist among children of different aggression types in positive and negative regulation strategies. The discrimination accuracy of emotion regulation strategies for aggression types is 66.5%. Conclusion: Significant differences exist among 3-6-yr-old aggressive children in emotion regulation strategies, and emotion regulation strategies can effectively distinguish aggressive children of different types.