Objective: To investigate the relations among state depression, trait depression, Internet use
preference and Internet addiction of college students. Methods: 403 college students were measured by
the Maryland Trait-State Depression Scale, Internet Use Preference Questionnaire and Internet Addiction
Test. Results: (1) State depression, trait depression, social entertainment preference, life service preference,
video game preference were significantly positively correlated with Internet addiction. (2) State depression
partially mediated the relation between life service preference and Internet addiction, and the relation
between video game preference and Internet addiction. Life service preference and video game preference,
respectively, partially mediated the relation between trait depression and Internet addiction. Conclusion:
The results of this study indicate that effective monitoring of individual Internet use and cultivating
positive emotions are beneficial to the intervention and prevention of Internet addiction.