Investigating the Association Between Adolescent Internet Addiction and Parental Attitudes

Objectives: In this study, the association between parents’ attitudes and internet addiction among adolescent high school students was investigated through some sociodemographic variables. Methods: The research was carried out with 385 students studying in four high schools in western Turkey. Sociodemographic characteristics, parental attitude scale and internet addiction scale were used in the study. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression analysis and structural equation modeling analysis were applied. Results: The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between the combined mean score obtained from the Parental Attitude Scale and the mean score obtained from the Internet Addiction Scale, and that authoritarian parenting attitude increases the risk of internet addiction [OR = 1.70 (95% CI: 1.33–2.18)]. In the structural equation modeling analysis, the model summary fit values were determined to be at a good level (χ(2)/df = 2.86, GFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.073) regarding the relationship between parental attitude and internet addiction. Conclusion: Adolescents’ internet addiction levels changes related to their parents’ democratic attitude evolve.