Worry and Permissive Parenting in Association with the Development of Internet Addiction in Children

Abstract

The Internet has experienced a rapid increase in use globally. Specifically, more than 90% of Hong Kong’s citizens use the Internet, and 70% of children in the age group of 6–17 years have daily access to it. However, internet addiction could pose serious social and health issues. Therefore, conducting research to investigate its causes and risk factors is fundamental. The current study examined the relationship between worry and Internet addiction among children in Hong Kong and investigated the moderating effect of the permissive parenting style on such a relationship. The participants consisted of 227 fourth- and fifth-grade students (120 males, 52.9%) with a mean age of 9.55 (standard deviation (SD) = 0.58) in Hong Kong. Each participant was asked to complete the questionnaires, including the Internet Addiction Test for Internet addiction, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children for worry, and the Parental Authority Questionnaire for the permissive parenting style. The results indicated that worry was related to greater Internet addiction among children. Furthermore, there was a moderating effect of the permissive parenting style such that the positive association between worry and Internet addiction was stronger when the permissive parenting style was higher. Our findings imply that parenting styles are influential in the prevention of Internet addiction.

Children and adolescents’ positive youth development qualities and internet addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study in China

“…Besides Internet use pattern, there are other influencing factors for Internet addiction of children and adolescents ( 16 ). While some studies focus on risk factors such as permissive parenting style ( 17 ), unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors, as well as depression and other negative emotions ( 18 , 19 ), protective factors like positive youth development (PYD) qualities have attracted tremendous attention from researchers, who support that the key to preventing problem behavior is to focus on the children’s strengths rather than weaknesses ( 20 ). Highlighted as a potentially important factor that may support better health and social outcomes ( 21 , 22 ), PYD assets emphasize on building children’s developmental plasticity, internal developmental assets and external developmental assets, enabling children and adolescents to cope with developmental challenges in an adaptive manner and maintain healthy functioning ( 23 ).…”

Relationship between Paternal and Maternal Parenting Style with Internet Addiction Level of Adolescents

“…The previous studies mentioned that paternal permissive parenting negatively correlated with a child’s emotion regulation, and it can increases the risk of a child developing a behavior problem ( 24 ). Other than that, previous studies conclude that the permissive parenting style has a positive impact on internet addiction of adolescents ( 14 , 25 - 28 ). Parents who applied the permissive parenting style contributed to the confusion of their child’s identity, and they do not control their children’s behavior and let them freely.…”

Assessing the Experience-Sharing Parenting Method through Online Learning during Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Assessing the Experience-Sharing Parenting Method through … International Journal of Instruction, October 2022 • Vol.15, No.4 activities and children's learning activities. Lo et al (2020) stated that permissive parenting is characterized by high responsiveness and low demands, a lot of attention to the needs and desires of children but without supervision or demands that children obey the rules, and parents give in to all desires of children. The number of parents who have knowledge of permissive parenting is supported by the findings of the researcher, where many students say that there is no scheduling of study hours or daily activities, no supervision of play, and parents will agree to opinions and fulfill wishes of the children if they are able to.…”