Parental Attachment and Problematic Internet Use among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender and Grit

Plight or light? Elucidating the main and interacting effects of parenting styles and BIS/BAS profiles on left-behind youth’s self-esteem

Today, many labor-aged adults worldwide work and live for a prolonged period outside of their places of origin in locations where the laborers’ school-aged children cannot migrate with their parents, creating a group known as left-behind youth. Empirical studies regarding the impact of parental migration (left-behind versus non-left-behind) on positive youth development, such as self-esteem, remain scarce, and the collective findings are divergent and controversial. Accordingly, the relational and individual correlates of self-esteem among those youth are largely underexplored. Two independent studies were conducted to fill these crucial knowledge gaps. In Study 1 (N = 738; Mage = 15.86; 54.6% girls), I compared the self-esteem of left-behind youth and their non-left-behind peers after adjusting for sociodemographic covariates and social desirability. In Study 2 (N = 1060; Mage = 13.05; 49.5% girls), I aimed to replicate the findings obtained from Study 1 but used a different measurement and another independent sample. Additionally, I extended Study 1 to investigate the main and interactive relationships between parenting styles (parental warmth and control) and the behavioral inhibition/activation system profiles with self-esteem. To clarify the commonality and specificity of these relationships, I also estimated the moderating role of left-behind status herein. Converging findings across both studies challenged the widely vulnerable image of left-behind youth and revealed that this group did not show significant differences in terms of self-esteem, as compared to non-left-behind peers. Interaction analyses also suggested that shy left-behind youth weaken the extent to which their self-esteem is detrimentally affected by low parental warmth/high parental control.

Problematic internet use and attachment styles among adolescents in Japan

BACKGROUND

Problematic Internet use (PIU) remains a significant social concern in Japan and across the globe. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the prevalence of PIU, and its association with lifestyle habits and mental health status. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have examined the association between parental attachment and PIU in Japan. Furthermore, preventive measures in Japan have primarily targeted adolescents via education. Therefore, in this study we explored the association between PIU and attachment styles among adolescents to seek a new approach for the development of appropriate, effective measures.

METHODS

A self-administered survey was conducted at one private (in 2018) and two public junior high schools (in 2020) in Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan. We used the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) questionnaire, and the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS-C). Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the association between IAT scores and attachment styles.

RESULTS

Of 1,413 participants (grades 7-9; 700 boys and 713 girls), 39% of the students showed possible PIU and 3% showed PIU. Students with PIU tended to sleep for shorter durations, access the Internet for long hours, and have a poor mental health status (p < 0.01). PIU was significantly associated with insecure attachment (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of our study imply that improving attachment styles and developing secure attachment between the child and parent might help mitigate and/or prevent PIU.

Antecedents of problematic social media use and cyberbullying among adolescents: attachment, the dark triad and rejection sensitivity

With the acceleration of internet use, problematic social media use (PSMU) is included in our lives. When looking at the antecedents of PSMU, being young has been found to be a risk factor for PSMU. In addition to the benefits of technological advances in education and training, rapid technological developments may also result in problematic behaviors, especially among children and young. Recently, possibilities brought by technology and more widespread use of technology by young people have created a new concept, namely, cyberbullying. The present study aims to examine the effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance on PSMU and cyberbullying as with the partial mediating effects of the Dark Triad personality traits, angry rejection sensitivity, and anxious rejection sensitivity among adolescents. In general, the findings supported the proposed theoretical model. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications along with suggestions for future research.

Grit Perseverance, Not Passion, Moderates the Association Between Behavioral Inhibition/Approach System and Internet Addiction in Adolescents

Background

Research on the links between the behavioral inhibition and approach systems (BIS/BAS), and internet addiction (IA) in adolescents has been inconclusive. BIS/BAS may interact with adolescent trait characteristics, resulting in different outcomes. Grit may alter adolescents' motivations, which can even be based on biological systems such as BIS/BAS. However, the impact of BIS/BAS and potential moderating factors on adolescents' internet use remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between BIS/BAS and IA in adolescents and explore the potential moderating roles of the two facts of grit, passion and perseverance, on the association between BIS/BAS and IA.

Methods

A total of 1,881 junior and senior high school students (M_age = 14.65, standard deviation _age = 1.81, ranging from 11 to 20 years) completed a self-reported measure of BIS/BAS, IA, and grit. Independent t-tests and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the differences between adolescents with IA and those with normal internet use. Pearson correlation and regression model analyses, including moderating model analysis, were used to qualify the associations between IA and BIS/BAS, as well as the potential moderating role of grit passion and perseverance.

Results

The results showed that 19.1% of the participants met the criteria for IA. Both BIS (β = 0.085, t = 3.650, p < 0.001) and BAS (β = 0.06, t = 2.552, p < 0.05) were positively associated with IA risk, and grit-perseverance moderated the association between BIS and IA (β = -0.230, bootstrap 95% confidence interval: -0.450 to -0.012) and BAS with IA (β = -0.187, bootstrap 95% confidence interval: -0.299 to -0.076).

Conclusion

These findings extend the current knowledge on the associations between BIS/BAS and IA. Moreover, the findings suggest that enhancing grit-perseverance may improve prevention and intervention of IA risk in adolescents who are sensitive to BIS and BAS.