The Relationship between Parental Internet Mediation and Internet Usage of Chinese Children: The Mediation Role of Personality Trait

Abstract

This study investigated how personality traits mediated the relationship between the parental Internet mediation and Internet usage (time and engagement) of Chinese children. A sample of 975 children from two Chinese primary schools, average age was 10.26 years old, was asked to report their Internet use time (daily and weekend), Internet engagement (information, entertainment and social interaction), parental Internet mediation, and their personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism personality). Results indicated: 1) the restrictive mediation was negatively linked to children’s Internet use time, and the other two mediation dimensions (active and co-use) were positively linked to children’s Internet engagement. 2) The extraversion personality mediated the association between the three mediation dimensions and children’s internet engagement, and the neuroticism personality only mediated the relationship between active mediation and use time. The present study highlights the importance of children’s personality as a link between parental role and children’s Internet-related behavior.