Longitudinal association between parental involvement and internet gaming disorder among Chinese adolescents: Consideration of future consequences as a mediator and peer victimization as a moderator

Abstract

Background and aims Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in adolescents is a concerning issue. Positive parenting has been found to protect against adolescent IGD, but the underlying mechanisms await further investigation. As such, this study examined the longitudinal association between parental involvement (PI) – a specific type of positive parenting understudied in the literature of adolescent gaming disorder – and IGD. Moreover, this study also tested consideration of future consequences (CFC) as a mediator and peer victimization (PV) as a moderator. Methods A two-wave longitudinal research spanning 6 months apart was conducted. Participants were Chinese adolescents (final N = 434; 222 females; M age = 14.44 years, SD = 1.56). They provided ratings on PI, PV, and IGD at Wave 1, and CFC-immediate, CFC-future, and IGD at Wave 2. Results Descriptive statistics showed that the prevalence rate of IGD was 10.81% and 9.45% at Waves 1 and 2, respectively. Moreover, results of moderated mediation model found that after controlling for Wave 1 IGD and covariates, Wave 1 PI was associated with Wave 2 IGD via preventing adolescents who had higher levels of PV from developing a tendence of CFC-immediate and via promoting adolescents who had lower levels of PV to develop a tendence of CFC-future. Discussion and Conclusions Altogether, these results suggest that facilitative ecological systems (e.g., positive parenting and good relationships with peers) and personal strengths (e.g., positive future orientation) jointly contribute to the mitigation of adolescent IGD.

Association between gaming disorder and internalizing symptoms among children and adolescents: A child-parent dyadic study

“…To our knowledge, this study is the first to find the indirect association of positive parenting behavior with PVG. The direct association of negative parenting behavior is consistent with a study reporting the negative association between parental involvement and IGD (Dou et al, 2022). Family functioning was not associated with either GD or IGD in any of the regression models in this study, although correlated with child-reported IGD and parent-reported GD/IGD.…”

The Association between Peer Victimization and Risk-Taking Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

“…A higher mean score indicated a high level of perceived peer victimization. This scale has been demonstrated to be valid and reliable among Chinese adolescents [ 31 ]. McDonald’s omega was 0.64.…”

Parent-adolescent conflict and problematic internet use among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of school climate

“…Parent-adolescent conflict not only prevents adolescents from meeting their increasing need to develop autonomy and individuation but also affects adolescents’ emotional insecurity and insecure attachment [ 19 ]. Therefore, adolescents may rely on Internet use to meet their unfulfilled social and psychological needs left unmet by their families [ 20 , 21 ]. Moreover, parent-adolescent conflict is a main source of stress in the early stage of individual development [ 14 ].…”

“…In addition, research has shown a strong direct association between parent-adolescent conflict and depression [ 31 , 32 ]. To relieve negative emotions, adolescents with depression may turn to increase Internet use to enhance their mood and compensate for unmet needs caused by parent-adolescent conflict [ 20 , 23 , 33 ]. In addition, depression can deplete adolescents’ self-control resources, leading to a lack of self-control [ 34 ].…”