The Mediating Effects of Adolescents’ Game Addiction Tendencies on the Relationships Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of adolescents’ game addiction tendencies upon observing the relationships between callous-unemotional traits (CU traits) and aggression. A total of 125 middle school students from Seoul and Gyeonggi (66 male and 59 female) participated in this study. This research used the Korean version of the youth CU scale (K-ICU), child/youth game addiction tendency scales, and early adolescents aggression scale (K-PCS). The collected data were analyzed by the PROCESS macro in SAS (Hays, 2013) to verify the mediated effects. The findings of this study are as follows; first, a simple regression analysis of the effects of CU traits on aggression showed that higher CU traits were associated with higher aggression. Second, higher CU traits were associated with a higher tendency of game addiction. Third, higher game addiction tendency was associated with higher aggression. Fourth, the relationship between CU traits and aggression showed mediating effects through adolescents’ game addiction tendencies. Fifth, statistically significant mediating effects were also found upon observing the relationships between CU traits and the four sub-factors of aggression. This study provides both a meaningful exploration of the effects of CU traits on aggression and an identification of the significant mediating effects of adolescents’ game addiction tendencies on the relationships between CU traits and aggression, including four sub-factors.