Parent–adolescent attachment and peer attachment associated with Internet Gaming Disorder: A longitudinal study of first-year undergraduate students

May 4, 2020Journal of behavioral addictions

How close relationships with parents and friends relate to Internet Gaming Disorder in first-year college students over time

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Abstract

Among 1,054 first-year university students, peer negatively predicted subsequent (IGD).

IGD weakly predicted subsequent attachment to mothers but significantly negatively predicted attachment to fathers.
Parental attachment did not predict subsequent IGD in the studied population.
A bidirectional association was found between peer attachment and IGD.
Negative correlations between attachment and IGD were stable across three assessments.
Stronger associations were observed among males compared to females at the first measurement point.

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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Given that (IGD) has tentatively been included in DSM-5 as a psychiatric disorder, it is important that the effect of parental and peer in the development of IGD is further explored.

METHODS: Utilizing a longitudinal design, this study investigated the bidirectional association between perceived parent–adolescent attachment, peer attachment, and IGD among 1,054 first-year undergraduate students (58.8% female). The students provided demographic information (e.g., age, gender) and were assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Assessments occurred three times, six months apart (October 2017; April 2018; October 2018).

RESULTS: Cross-lagged panel models suggested that IGD weakly predicted subsequent mother attachment but significantly negatively predicted father attachment. However, father and mother attachment did not predict subsequent IGD. Moreover, peer attachment had a bidirectional association with IGD. Furthermore, the model also demonstrated stable cross-sectional negative correlations between attachment and IGD across all three assessments.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study did not show a bidirectional association between parental attachment and IGD, but they did show a negative bidirectional association between peer attachment and IGD. The results suggested previous cross-sectional associations between IGD and attachment, with larger links among males than females at the first measurement point. We found that peer attachment negatively predicted subsequent IGD, which indicates that peer attachment plays an important role in preventing addictive gaming behaviors for university students.

Key numbers

1,054

Participants

First-year undergraduate students in China

0.07

Negative Prediction of

Cross-lagged path analysis for peer

0.10

Negative Prediction of Father

Cross-lagged path analysis for father

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Parent–adolescent attachment and peer attachment associated with Internet Gaming Disorder: A longitudinal study of first-year undergraduate students

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