Parental and Family Factors Associated with Problematic Gaming and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents: a Systematic Literature Review

Nielsen, Philip; Favez, Nicolas; Rigter, Henk

doi:10.1007/s40429-020-00320-0

Cited by 57 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…This seems in line with previous research suggesting problematic gaming behavior can be a response to stressful, pre-existing problems ( Snodgrass et al, 2014 ; Prax, 2016 ). Our findings thus support the notion that reasons for obsessive gaming must be sought in a broader ecological understanding of children’s life worlds ( Nielsen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…We are tempted to suggest that having highly involved parents makes the life of avid gamers more stressful, but perhaps this instead hints at a conflict between the subjective relaxation children derive from digital entertainment (indeed, the on-screen participants told us, that they played especially as a way to unwind), the effects on fatigue of late-night gaming sessions, and the motives, priorities, and understandings held by their parents. Indeed, family factors are found to have a consistent relationship to issues of problematic gaming and Internet use ( Nielsen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can Worried Parents Predict Effects of Video Games on Their Children? A Case-Control Study of Cognitive Abilities, Addiction Indicators and Wellbeing

Lieberoth

Fiskaali

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Many parents worry over their children’s gaming habits, but to what extent do such worries match any detrimental effects of excessive gaming? We attempted to answer this question by comparing children of highly concerned parents with other adolescents of the same age. A cohort of parents who identified as highly concerned over their children’s video game habits were recruited for a public study in collaboration with a national television network. Using an online experimental platform in conjunction with surveys of parents’ beliefs and attitudes, we compared their children to age-matched peers in an exploratory case-control study. The scores of children with highly concerned parents on tests of cognitive control (cued task-switching and Iowa Gambling Task) and psychological wellbeing (WHO-5) were statistically similar to controls, suggesting no selective cognitive or psychological detriments from gaming or otherwise in the cases with concerned parents. The case group, however, did spend more time gaming, and scored higher than controls on problem gaming indicators (Gaming Addiction Scale), which also correlated negatively with wellbeing. Within the case group, wellbeing effects seemed mainly to consist in issues of relaxation and sleep, and related to gaming addiction indicators of playing to forget real-world problems, and the feeling of neglecting non-gaming activities. Where most results of research staged for TV never get published, making it difficult to interpret both methods and results, this paper describes findings and participant recruitment in detail. The relationship between parental concern and children’s gaming is discussed, as is the merits and challenges of research conducted with media, such as TV programs and their recruited on-screen participants.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Worried Parents Predict Effects of Video Games on Their Children? A Case-Control Study of Cognitive Abilities, Addiction Indicators and Wellbeing

Lieberoth

Fiskaali

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…IGD in adolescents is associated with social variables including parental and family factors (Nielsen et al, 2019(Nielsen et al, , 2020, as is also suggested by some of our present findings. For instance, three-quarters of all adolescents met the IGD criterion 'Risk or lose relationships/opportunities', which includes family relationships.…”

Section: Reasons For Offering Family Therapysupporting

confidence: 89%

“…IGD in adolescents may not only be linked to intrapersonal characteristics of the youththe target of CBT but also to social variables including parental and family factors (Nielsen, Favez, Liddle, & Rigter, 2019;Nielsen, Favez, & Rigter, 2020). Reviewers of the treatment literature (Zajac et al, 2020) found just one study of a family-based intervention targeting IGD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional family therapy reduces problematic gaming in adolescents: A randomised controlled trial

Nielsen

Christensen

Henderson

et al. 2021

JBA

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Background and aimsSocial variables including parental and family factors may serve as risk factors for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in adolescents. An IGD treatment programme should address these factors. We assessed two family therapies – multidimensional family therapy (MDFT) and family therapy as usual (FTAU) – on their impact on the prevalence of IGD and IGD symptoms.MethodsEligible for this randomised controlled trial comparing MDFT (N = 12) with FTAU (N = 30) were adolescents of 12–19 years old meeting at least 5 of the 9 DSM-5 IGD criteria and with at least one parent willing to participate in the study. The youths were recruited from the Centre Phénix-Mail, which offers outpatient adolescent addiction care in Geneva. Assessments occurred at baseline and 6 and 12 months.ResultsBoth family therapies decreased the prevalence of IGD across the one-year period. Both therapies also lowered the number of IGD criteria met, with MDFT outperforming FTAU. There was no effect on the amount of time spent on gaming. At baseline, parents judged their child’s gaming problems to be important whereas the adolescents thought these problems were minimal. This discrepancy in judgment diminished across the study period as parents became milder in rating problem severity. MDFT better retained families in treatment than FTAU.Discussion and ConclusionsFamily therapy, especially MDFT, was effective in treating adolescent IGD. Improvements in family relationships may contribute to the treatment success. Our findings are promising but need to be replicated in larger study.Trial registration numberISRCTN 11142726.

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“…Along with various other psychosocial and behavioral problems [ 22 , 23 ], PIU is found to be more common in adolescents from divorced families [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Family functioning is thought to be salient in explaining adolescents’ PIU [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], and precisely this family functioning is under pressure after a divorce or parental separation. That is, not necessarily divorce itself but (deteriorated) family functioning after the divorce is key in explaining adolescents’ post-divorce adjustment [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents from Divorced Families: The Role of Family Factors and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem

Dijk

Valk

Vossen

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Family functioning is salient in explaining adolescents’ problematic internet use (PIU), and precisely this family functioning is under pressure after parental divorce. Moreover, growing up with divorced parents is identified as a risk factor for PIU. Therefore, examining which factors are associated with adolescents’ PIU after divorce is particularly important. Based on self-report data from N = 244 adolescents of divorced families (49.6% boys, M = 13.42), structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the associations of PIU with interparental conflict, triangulation, maternal and paternal warmth, and adolescents’ self-esteem. Potential buffering effects of self-esteem were tested, as well as gender differences in associations. The results showed that more triangulation and less maternal warmth were related to higher levels of PIU, but these effects disappeared after adding self-esteem to the models. Adolescent self-esteem did not significantly buffer the effects of the different family factors on PIU, nor were there any significant gender differences in association. Hence, especially adolescents’ self-esteem seems to be a key aspect for PIU in adolescents from divorced families.

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Parental and Family Factors Associated with Problematic Gaming and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents: a Systematic Literature Review

Cited by 57 publications

References 121 publications

Can Worried Parents Predict Effects of Video Games on Their Children? A Case-Control Study of Cognitive Abilities, Addiction Indicators and Wellbeing

Can Worried Parents Predict Effects of Video Games on Their Children? A Case-Control Study of Cognitive Abilities, Addiction Indicators and Wellbeing

Multidimensional family therapy reduces problematic gaming in adolescents: A randomised controlled trial

Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents from Divorced Families: The Role of Family Factors and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem

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