Journal of affective disordersApr 26, 2025

How feeling entitled and having a sense of meaning link parents’ rejection and overprotection to teen internet addiction

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Apr 3, 2026

Abstract

A sample of 4091 vocational school students indicates that both parental rejection and overprotection are positively related to internet addiction.

Parental rejection is associated with increased levels of internet addiction.
Parental overprotection is also linked to higher rates of internet addiction.
Psychological entitlement mediates the relationship between both parental rejection and overprotection and internet addiction.
The presence of meaning mediates the relationship specifically between parental rejection and internet addiction.
Elevated psychological entitlement and decreased presence of meaning may increase the risk of internet addiction in adolescents.

Simplified

BACKGROUND: Although internet addiction has been related to negative parenting, few studies have investigated relationships involving parental rejection and parental overprotection and adolescent internet addiction. The present study examined the role of psychological entitlement and the presence of meaning in mediating relationships between parental rejection and overprotection and adolescent internet addiction.

METHODS: Self-reported data were drawn from a cross-sectional study involving a large-scale sample of 4091 secondary vocational schools students (45.9 % girls; Mage = 16.77 years, SD = 0.75) in China.

RESULTS: Both parental rejection and overprotection were positively related to internet addiction among vocational school students. Moreover, psychological entitlement and presence of meaning mediated the relationship between parental rejection and internet addiction, while psychological entitlement mediated the link between parental overprotection and internet addiction.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that parental rejection and overprotection may put adolescents at greater risk of social networking and internet game addictions by elevating their level of psychological entitlement and reducing the level of presence of meaning. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

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Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. MNP discloses the following. MNP has consulted for Baria-Tek and Boehringer Ingelheim; has been involved in a patent application with Yale University and Novartis; has received research support from Mohegan Sun Casino and the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling; has participated in surveys, mailings or telephone consultations related to drug addiction, internet use, impulse-control disorders or other health topics; has consulted for and/or advised gambling, non-profit, healthcare and legal entities on issues related to internet use, impulse control and addictive disorders; has performed grant reviews for research-funding agencies; has edited journals and journal sections; has given academic lectures in grand rounds, CME events and other clinical or scientific venues; and has generated books or book chapters for publishers of mental health texts.

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How feeling entitled and having a sense of meaning link parents’ rejection and overprotection to teen internet addiction

Abstract

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Competing interests

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Abstract

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Funding

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