IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i7p3542-d526182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parent-Adolescent Communication, School Engagement, and Internet Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Rejection Sensitivity

Author

Listed:
  • Jingjing Li

    (Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

  • Chengfu Yu

    (Department of Psychology, Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Shuangju Zhen

    (Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

  • Wei Zhang

    (Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

Abstract

Although a large body of research has indicated that parent-adolescent communication is a crucial protective factor for adolescent Internet addiction, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. To address this research gap, this study, based on social control theory and the organism-environment interaction model, was designed to test whether school engagement mediated the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and adolescent Internet addiction and whether this mediating effect was moderated by rejection sensitivity. A sample of 1006 adolescents ( Mean age = 13.16 years, SD = 0.67) anonymously completed the questionnaires. The results showed that the positive association between parent-adolescent communication and adolescent Internet addiction was mediated by school engagement. Moreover, this indirect link was stronger among adolescents with high rejection sensitivity than those with low rejection sensitivity. These findings highlighted school engagement as a potential mechanism linking parent-adolescent communication to adolescent Internet addiction, with high rejection sensitivity being an important risk factor amplifying this indirect effect. Intervention programs aimed at reducing Internet addiction among adolescents might benefit from the current research.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingjing Li & Chengfu Yu & Shuangju Zhen & Wei Zhang, 2021. "Parent-Adolescent Communication, School Engagement, and Internet Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Rejection Sensitivity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3542-:d:526182
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3542/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3542/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Montserrat Peris & Usue de la Barrera & Konstanze Schoeps & Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla, 2020. "Psychological Risk Factors that Predict Social Networking and Internet Addiction in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-23, June.
    2. Forrest-Bank, Shandra S. & Jenson, Jeffery M., 2015. "The relationship among childhood risk and protective factors, racial microaggression and ethnic identity, and academic self-efficacy and antisocial behavior in young adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 64-74.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jingjing Li & Yanhan Chen & Jiachen Lu & Weidong Li & Chengfu Yu, 2021. "Self-Control, Consideration of Future Consequences, and Internet Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Deviant Peer Affiliation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-10, August.
    2. Wen-Jiun Chou & Ray C. Hsiao & Cheng-Fang Yen, 2022. "Parental Efficacy in Managing Smartphone Use of Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Parental and Adolescent Related Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-10, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sari Castrén & Terhi Mustonen & Krista Hylkilä & Niko Männikkö & Maria Kääriäinen & Kirsimarja Raitasalo, 2022. "Risk Factors for Excessive Social Media Use Differ from Those of Gambling and Gaming in Finnish Youth," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Olatz Lopez-Fernandez, 2021. "Emerging Health and Education Issues Related to Internet Technologies and Addictive Problems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Alicia Tamarit & Konstanze Schoeps & Montserrat Peris-Hernández & Inmaculada Montoya-Castilla, 2021. "The Impact of Adolescent Internet Addiction on Sexual Online Victimization: The Mediating Effects of Sexting and Body Self-Esteem," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Wen Xiao & Jiaxin Peng & Suqun Liao, 2022. "Exploring the Associations between Social Media Addiction and Depression: Attentional Bias as a Mediator and Socio-Emotional Competence as a Moderator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    5. McMahon, Sheila M. & Pederson, Shelby, 2020. "“Love and compassion not found Elsewhere”: A Photovoice exploration of restorative justice and nonviolent communication in a community-based juvenile justice diversion program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    6. Yaniv Efrati & Daniel C. Kolubinski & Claudia Marino & Marcantonio M. Spada, 2021. "Modelling the Contribution of Metacognitions, Impulsiveness, and Thought Suppression to Behavioural Addictions in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-21, April.
    7. Wintner, Suzanne & Almeida, Joanna & Hamilton-Mason, Johnnie, 2017. "Perceptions of microaggression in K-8 school settings: An exploratory study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 594-601.
    8. Chatzaga, Anastasia & Metaxas, Theodore, 2023. "Social Media and European Youth: A Combined Qualitative Analysis of Finland and Spain," MPRA Paper 122468, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Jingjing Li & Yanhan Chen & Jiachen Lu & Weidong Li & Chengfu Yu, 2021. "Self-Control, Consideration of Future Consequences, and Internet Addiction among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of Deviant Peer Affiliation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-10, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3542-:d:526182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.