Parenting and Internet Addiction among Youth: The Mediating Role of Adolescent Self-Control

Internet addiction is a pervasive problem among adolescents today. Previous research identifies socialization processes, including parenting, as important for these behaviors. The current study tested the links between perceived maternal monitoring, support, communication, and conflict and Internet addiction among youth, and whether these relationships were mediated by adolescent self-control. It also tested whether these links were moderated by sex. Data were collected from 569 high school students in Turkey (54.1% female, Mage = 15.92, SD = 1.15). Path analyses were used to test study hypotheses. Findings showed that perceived monitoring, support, communication, and conflict were directly associated with self-control and also indirectly with Internet addiction, mediated by self-control. No direct effects were found for monitoring, support, or communication on Internet addiction. Moderation tests by sex found only one significant difference for monitoring. Findings provided evidence that perceived maternal parenting processes as well as adolescent self-control are important in understanding variability in adolescent Internet addiction among youth, albeit indirectly so for maternal parenting processes with the exception of conflict. Thus, improving both parenting, and particularly self-control, appear to be fruitful avenues for prevention and intervention work in addressing Internet addiction among youth.