Perceived Parenting Styles as Predictor of Internet Addiction in Adolescence

This study examined the perceived parental styles as predictors of addiction in adolescence. The subjects of the study were a total of 419 high school students including 238 female and 181 male students whose mean age was 16.5. Personal information form, Internet Addiction Test and Perceived Parenting Style Scale was used for the collection of research data. In data analysis, techniques of t test, F-test, simple correlation, and regression analysis was utilized. The results revealed that perceived parenting style vary significantly related to addiction level. Adolescents with partial addiction perceived more democratic their parental style than non-addictive adolescents; while adolescents with partial symptoms and pathological addicts have perceived their parents more protective-demanding and authoritarian compared to non-addictive adolescents. Moreover, addiction level differed according to gender of adolescence that male adolescents were found to suffer more from problematic addiction than girls. Based on the findings, implication was discussed.