Perceived parental psychological control and the risk of internet gaming disorder in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Abstract It is stated that parental psychological control (PC), which appears to hinder psychological development in children and adolescents, is associated with internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, parenting styles and practices vary across cultures. For this reason, to determine the risk of IGD in adolescents who are in the process of psychological development and to prevent it at an early stage, there is a need to better understand the effect of PC on the development of IGD. In this context, this study aims to examine the impact of perceived parental psychological control on the risk of Internet gaming disorder in Turkish adolescents. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample group consisted of 4498 students from eight public high schools in Turkey. Participant Information Form, the Psychological Control Scale, and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale Short Form were used for collecting data. Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the risk of IGD increased as maternal disrespect-maternal psychological control and father disrespect scores increased. Paternal psychological control score had no significant effect on IGD risk. In the multivariate model, age, father’s education level, spending money on games, time spent playing daily games on weekdays and weekends, and father’s psychological score were found to be associated with IGD risk. The effects of maternal disrespect and maternal psychological control scores on the IGD risk varied according to the number of siblings and the education level of the mother. As a result, parental PC was determined to affect the risk of IGD in Turkish adolescents significantly.