Childhood parental neglect and adolescent internet gaming disorder: From the perspective of a distal—proximal—process—outcome model

Internet gaming disorder has been a global concern. Early experience in childhood has a far-reaching influence on adolescent behaviors. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of childhood experience on adolescent Internet gaming disorder is still unclear. In order to explore these relationships, basing on the context—process—outcome model and cognitive-behavioral model, the present study conducted a mediating model in which childhood parental neglect related with adolescent Internet disorder through parental phubbing and depression. The present study recruited 779 (girls = 381) middle school students with a mean age of 13.15 ± 0.61 years old from Northeast of China to participate in the survey. Students completed questionnaires on childhood parental neglect, perceived parental phubbing, depression, and Internet gaming disorder. Structural equation modelling results provided that childhood parental neglect positively correlated with adolescent Internet gaming disorder and parental phubbing and depression played mediating roles in this relationship. The current results drew a picture on how adverse early experience related with adolescent negative Internet usage and provided a distal—proximal—process—outcome model to explain this relationship between childhood parental neglect and adolescent Internet gaming disorder.