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

Abstract

Some adolescents may develop problematic gaming (PG) or problematic Internet use (PIU). We reviewed the literature on associations between specific parental/family (PF) characteristics and adolescents’ PG and PIU. Increasingly, links are being reported between PF factors and PG and PIU. However, questions remain about the nature of the factors involved and the strength of their link with PG and PIU. We addressed these questions in the present review. Our systematic literature search identified 27 research papers on PG and 73 on PIU and distinguished six categories of parental/family factors. For each category, PF factors were connected with both PG and PIU. The effect size was often small. Across categories, the protective factors (positive parenting and positive family dynamics) were associated with lower rates of PG and PIU and the risk factors (negative parenting and negative family dynamics) with higher rates. On average, the PF factors carried as much weight as intrapersonal characteristics of the adolescents.