The role of family and personality traits in Internet gaming disorder: A mediation model combining cognitive and attachment perspectives

Abstract

Background and aims: Gaming disorder was recently recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization and included in the International Classification of Diseases. Extensive research has been conducted with regard to psychosocial correlates and comorbidity, less so for the developmental mechanisms and the processes leading to the disorder. The association between family factors, personality traits, and gaming has been studied independently but not in combination. To fill this gap in knowledge, this study examined (a) the association between parental acceptance-rejection theory and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and (b) the mediating and moderating effect of core self-evaluations (CSE), a personality construct, on the aforementioned variables. Methods: The study was quantitative and involved young adults members of online gaming communities (N = 225). Results: The results showed that parental rejection is associated with the occurrence of IGD, only through the mediating effect of CSE. The moderation model was not confirmed. Discussion: Findings bridge early emotional deficits with CSE personality traits and IGD, based on two widely acknowledged theoretical frameworks. In addition, they highlight the importance of the father's role in upbringing. Conclusions: These frameworks combine cognitive and attachment perspectives and a process-oriented approach to the development and maintenance of IGD. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to (a) the mechanisms leading to the disorder and (b) providing an evidence base for therapeutic interventions for IGD to go beyond abstinence and include self-esteem enhancement and efficacy contingencies. Directions for future research are also provided in this study.

Prevalence and Interpersonal Correlates of Internet Gaming Disorders among Chinese Adolescents

“…We found that male adolescents were much more likely to have IGD than female adolescents (17.5% versus 7.9%); the observed significant sex difference is consistent with that reported in previous studies (e.g., [4]). In this study, disadvantaged family background (e.g., single-parent family, lower socio-economic status (SES), and lower maternal education level) were found to be significant risk factors of IGD, corroborating previous studies (e.g., [8]). SES is in general negatively associated with both risk behaviors and risk factors of such risk behaviors [8].…”

“…In this study, disadvantaged family background (e.g., single-parent family, lower socio-economic status (SES), and lower maternal education level) were found to be significant risk factors of IGD, corroborating previous studies (e.g., [8]). SES is in general negatively associated with both risk behaviors and risk factors of such risk behaviors [8]. Attention is hence needed to strengthen prevention of IGD among disadvantaged adolescents.…”

“…There are several types of potential protective and risk factors of IGD, including contextual factors (e.g., convenience and accessibility), interpersonal factors (e.g., interpersonal conflict and social support), personal factors (e.g., biological factors, personality traits, mental/emotional problems, and self-esteem, loneliness), and game-related factors (e.g., game genres, instant gratification, interactivity, and anonymity nature of online gaming) [8][9][10]. Some researchers pointed out that interpersonal factors of IGD have been under-researched [4,11,12].…”

“…Family and parents play central roles in adolescents' socialization, behavioral development, and health [15]. Increasing studies have identified various family-related risk factors of IGD, including parental modelling of online gaming (e.g., parental gaming behavior [16] and parental attitudes [11]), poor parent-child relationship (e.g., perceived parental inconsistency [17], parental rejection [8], poor parental supervision [11,18]), poor family environment (e.g., poor family functioning [11], perceived family disharmony [6], and poor family cohesion [19]). Traditional Chinese culture and some Asian cultures emphasize parental psychological control (i.e., parental control that intrudes on the psychological and emotional development of the child) [20]; the attribute is a stressor and an interpersonal risk factor of adolescents' mental distress and behavioral problems [21][22][23][24][25].…”

Parent Attachment and Adolescent’s Problematic Internet Use: A Literature Review

“…PIU is a disorder that has been listed in DSM-IV and its pathology is almost the same as the Internet gaming disorder or IGD in DSM V. PIU affects the work of cognitive functions in motor control, inhibits the working of brain memory, confiscates concentration and disrupts the part of the brain that is responsible for decision making. But more research is needed because both PIU and IGD still measure addiction dominant in game users, while research shows that non-game internet users also experience the same pathology (Ioannidis et al, 2019;Schimmenti et al, 2019;Throuvala et al, 2019).…”