Digital game addiction, social anxiety, and parental attitudes in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Digital game addiction negatively affects the physical and psychosocial health of adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine digital game addiction, social anxiety, and parental attitudes among adolescents, and to identify the risk factors of these parameters. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of 1379 students aged 14–17 years. A Personal Information Form, the Digital Game Addiction Scale, the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and the Parental Attitude Scale were used for collecting data. The prevelance of digital game addiction was found as 12.9%. The risk of digital game addiction was 2.6 times higher in boys compared to girls. While digital game addiction was the highest in adolescents who perceived their parent's attitude as negligent, social anxiety was found to be the highest in adolescents who perceived their parent's attitude as authoritarian. Parental attitude affected digital game addiction and social anxiety among adolescents. Gender, duration of playing games, and parental control over playing game were factors that predicted digital game addiction. School based screening programs should be designed for early detection of addiction, prevention of risky behaviors, and management of social anxiety in adolescents.