Costina Ruxandra PĂSĂRELU1,2, Anca DOBREAN1,2
anca.dobrean@ubbcluj.ro
1 Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2 The International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Abstract
Problematic Internet use (PIU) in adolescents is associated with parental mental health. However, no study investigated mechanisms which can explain this relationship. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate parental PIU, parenting dimensions and adolescent mental health as significant mediators of the relationship between parental mental health and adolescent PIU. Two-hundred-twenty-two parents (Mage = 41.36; SD = 3.05) and adolescents (Mage = 15.91; SD = .95) participated in this cross-sectional study. Results indicated significant associations between parental mental health, namely parental social anxiety symptoms and parental depressive symptoms, parental PIU, positive parenting, adolescent emotional problems and adolescent PIU. Multiple mediation analysis indicated that parental PIU, positive parenting and adolescent emotional problems were significant mediators in the relationship between parental mental health and adolescent PIU. Implications for prevention and intervention programs for PIU involving both adolescents and their parents are discussed.
Keywords: problematic Internet use, parenting, anxiety, intergenerational
transmission, adolescent
Doi: 10.24193/jebp.2018.2.16
Published online: 2018/09/01
Published print: 2018/09/01
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