What Protects Adolescents with Youth Subculture Affiliation from Excessive Internet Use?

Daniela Filakovska Bobakova,Jana Holubcikova,Zuzana Dankulincova Veselska,Andrea Madarasova Geckova

doi:10.3390/ijerph15112451

Abstract

Youth subculture affiliation (SA) appears to be an important risk factor with regard to adolescents’ problem behavior. Excessive Internet use (EIU) has emerged as a new type of problem behavior; however, it has not yet been studied in adolescents affiliated with youth subcultures. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association between SA and EIU and to explore the role of selected protective factors. We used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in 2014 in Slovakia. The final sample for this study comprised 532 adolescents (mean age: 15.4; 49.6% boys). Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations of EIU with SA. Adolescents with SA were more likely to report EIU. Adjustment for protective factors decreased the association between EIU and SA. From all tested interactions, only the interaction of SA with family support was found to be significant. The relationship between family support and EIU was mediated via Monitoring by the mother only in adolescents without SA. Our findings imply that the risk of EIU is higher in adolescents with SA. There was a difference in how protective factors worked in adolescents with and without SA.

Highlights

Youth subcultures are dynamic entities characterized by specific lifestyle, music preference, distinctive world view, and shared values and behaviors of young people [1,2]
Each of the adjustments for protective factors further decreased the association between Excessive Internet use (EIU) and subculture affiliation (SA) to a less significant level (Table 2)
Our findings imply that the risk of EIU is higher in adolescents affiliated with youth subcultures

Summary

Introduction

Youth subcultures are dynamic entities characterized by specific lifestyle, music preference, distinctive world view, and shared values and behaviors of young people [1,2]. Terms, such as youth culture, neo-tribe, lifestyle and/or scene, are often used in the available literature to capture the postmodern nature of this phenomenon [2,3,4]. Problem behaviors, such as substance use, fighting, bullying, truancy, and early sexual behavior [6] Those types of problem behaviors, which are often highly correlated, may be manifestations of the same underlying psycho-social factors. Occurrence of one type of problem behavior can predict other problem behaviors, and vice versa, and at the same time these are often associated with the same set of psycho-social determinants [7,8,9]

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Conclusion