Consistent and Appropriate Parental Restrictions Mitigating Against Children's Compulsive Internet Use: A One-Year Longitudinal Study

Inconsistent Media Mediation and Problematic Smartphone Use in Preschoolers: Maternal Conflict Resolution Styles as Moderators

“…As a result, the child is less likely to internalize the rules and understand the consequences of their actions [ 26 ], which may increase unwanted outcomes such as problematic smartphone use [ 27 ]. Consistent with these notions, prior studies have found that inconsistent parenting is positively associated with problematic internet use in primary school children [ 25 ] and adolescents [ 41 ]; Martins et al [ 26 ] found that the combination of inconsistent restrictive and active mediation significantly predicted greater social media use in adolescents.…”

“…For instance, Gardner [ 24 ] suggests that inconsistent parental rules are relatively ineffective in regulating children’s behaviors and can lead to problematic behaviors. This is because when parents display inconsistent mediation for their child’s media use [ 25 ], children are less likely to internalize the rules and understand the consequences of their actions [ 26 ], and therefore respond with noncompliance and unwanted outcomes such as problematic smartphone use [ 27 ]. The second line of evidence elucidates the moderating role of mother–child conflict resolution strategies.…”

“…Previous studies on inconsistent parenting suggest that parental inconsistency is detrimental for the child and leads to socioemotional and behavioral issues, e.g., [ 24 , 26 ]. Given that parents who are inconsistent in their parenting are likely to also be inconsistent in their mediation of media use [ 25 ], mothers’ reliance on inconsistent smartphone mediation strategies may lead to a reinforcement trap, whereby the short-term benefits (e.g., peace and conflict avoidance) of a parent’s yielding to a child’s request to use smartphones are gained at the cost of strengthening the child’s problematic behavior [ 24 , 40 ]. As a result, the child is less likely to internalize the rules and understand the consequences of their actions [ 26 ], which may increase unwanted outcomes such as problematic smartphone use [ 27 ].…”

Connected or Cutoff? A 4-Year Longitudinal Study of the Links Between Adolescents’ Compulsive Internet Use and Social Support

“…Past research provides support for the antecedent model, at least for adult social support. For example, research suggests that if a parent has a positive relationship with their child, and uses productive parenting practices, the child is less likely to develop compulsive internet usage (Miltuze et al, 2021). Although this study provides preliminary evidence, it did not separate the between-person and within-person variance elements, as discussed above.…”

İnternetin Ergenler Üzerindeki Etkisi: Bir Karma Yöntem Çalışması

“…However, a longitudinal study in the literature indicated that consistent, suitable parental attitudes and positive child-parent relationships that reduce uncontrolled internet usage may facilitate the management of internet addiction. 10 Internet addiction appears with symptoms such as the inability to limit the use of the internet, the continuation of use despite its social or academic damages 7 , feelings of anxiety when access to the internet is limited 11 , lower academic success, malnutrition, and insomnia. 12 In a study, adolescents indicated that they felt better while interacting with their friends face-to-face.…”