Parenting approaches, family functionality, and internet addiction among Hong Kong adolescents

BMC Pediatrics

Research Article

Ka Wing Fok¹  Ka Man Liu¹  Cynthia Sau Ting Wu¹  Cheuk Ho Lam¹  Kin Fai Yu¹  Sheung Man Yeung¹  Ho Ting Wong² 

[1] GH506, School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong;Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;

关键词: Parenting approaches;    Family functionality;    Internet addiction;    Adolescents;    Chinese;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12887-016-0666-y

 received in 2015-07-02, accepted in 2016-08-03,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundInternet addiction (IA) among adolescents has become a global health problem, and public awareness of it is increasing. Many IA risk factors relate to parents and the family environment. This study examined the relationship between IA and parenting approaches and family functionality.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 2021 secondary students to identify the prevalence of IA and to explore the association between adolescent IA and familial variables, including parents’ marital status, family income, family conflict, family functionality, and parenting approaches.ResultsThe results revealed that 25.3 % of the adolescent respondents exhibited IA, and logistic regression positively predicted the IA of adolescents from divorced families, low-income families, families in which family conflict existed, and severely dysfunctional families. Interestingly, adolescents with restricted Internet use were almost 1.9 times more likely to have IA than those whose use was not restricted.ConclusionsInternet addiction is common among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong, and family-based prevention strategies should be aligned with the risk factors of IA.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Wu et al. 2016