Parenting styles can shape how teens cope with stress. Harsh or over-controlling parenting may lower a teen’s social skills and increase aggression, making them more likely to escape into video games.
Without emotional support or autonomy, gaming may become a way to manage frustration, loneliness, or unmet needs.
Choi, J. I., Kim, G. M., Kim, J. A., & Jeong, E. J. (2025). Parenting attitudes and pathological gaming: Multifaceted influences of harsh-negative parenting on adolescent pathological gaming. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1521013. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1521013
Key Points
- Focus: This study investigates how harsh-negative parenting influences adolescent pathological gaming through two psychological factors: social intelligence and aggression.
- Method: Researchers conducted a 3-year longitudinal survey with 968 South Korean adolescents and used structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the effects of parenting on gaming addiction via social intelligence and aggression.
- Findings: Harsh parenting reduced social intelligence and increased aggression, which in turn predicted more pathological gaming. For example, low social intelligence predicted higher aggression, and higher aggression predicted more gaming problems.
- Implications: Parenting styles play a pivotal role in teen gaming addiction; thus, promoting supportive parenting and enhancing social intelligence may reduce problematic gaming behaviors.
Rationale
Concept Defined:
Pathological gaming refers to excessive and compulsive video game use that disrupts daily functioning—socially, emotionally, and academically.
It is now recognized by the World Health Organization as a potential mental health disorder.
What’s Known:
Previous research links family dynamics and personal traits (e.g., aggression, social skills) to gaming problems.
Authoritarian or unsupportive parenting and poor social skills are known risk factors. High aggression and low emotional regulation also correlate with addiction-like gaming behavior.
What This Study Adds:
Despite existing findings, few studies have examined how parenting attitudes, social intelligence, and aggression jointly influence pathological gaming over time.
This research fills that gap by testing an integrated model, tracking changes across three years.
Why It Matters:
Understanding these interconnected influences helps psychologists, parents, and educators develop more effective interventions.
Targeting parenting styles and psychosocial skills may prevent or reduce gaming-related problems during the critical developmental period of adolescence.
Method
This study used a longitudinal observational design with data collected over three years (T1–T3).
Researchers employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships between variables.
Sample:
- Total participants: 968 South Korean adolescents
- Gender: 477 males (49.3%), 491 females (50.7%)
- School levels: Elementary (35.6%), Middle (34.4%), High school (30%)
- Gaming time: Ranged from under 30 minutes to over 6 hours per day
Variables:
- Independent Variable: Harsh-negative parenting (T1), including over-interference and over-expectation.
- Mediators: Social intelligence (T2) and aggression (T2).
- Dependent Variable: Pathological gaming (T3).
- Control Variables: Gender, age, daily gaming time.
Procedure:
- Year 1 (T1): Assessed adolescents’ perceptions of harsh-negative parenting.
- Year 2 (T2): Measured social intelligence and aggression.
- Year 3 (T3): Measured pathological gaming.
- Data Collection: Face-to-face interviews conducted annually using the same questionnaire.
- Ethical Protocols: Informed consent obtained from parents and participants; approved by an ethics committee.
Measures:
- Harsh-Negative Parenting Scale (Heo, 2013):
8-item Likert scale assessing perceived parental over-expectation and interference.
Example: “My parents interfere even with small matters.” - Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (Silvera et al., 2001):
21 items across 3 subscales: social awareness, social skills, and social information processing.
Example: “I adapt well to social situations.”
Why suitable: Measures interpersonal competence relevant to online vs. offline functioning. - Short-Form Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-SF):
12 items across anger, hostility, physical/verbal aggression.
Example: “I get angry for no reason.”
Why suitable: Captures behavioral tendencies linked to gaming use. - Internet Addiction Test (adapted for gaming):
20-item scale including items like: “I neglect other tasks because of gaming.”
Why suitable: Validated tool for identifying excessive, problematic gaming behavior.
Statistical Measures
The researchers used PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling) with SmartPLS 4.0. This method is ideal for:
- Testing multiple relationships in one model
- Handling longitudinal data
- Measuring both direct and indirect effects
They also assessed:
- Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability > 0.70
- Validity: Factor loadings > 0.70 and AVE > 0.50
- Model Fit: Evaluated through path coefficients and T-statistics for hypotheses testing
Results
- Harsh-negative parenting reduced social intelligence (β = -0.123).
- Harsh-negative parenting increased aggression (β = +0.144).
- Lower social intelligence predicted higher aggression (β = -0.537).
- Higher aggression predicted more pathological gaming (β = +0.207).
- Lower social intelligence also directly predicted more gaming issues (β = -0.148).
- Gaming time (but not age) increased pathological gaming.
- Boys were more prone to pathological gaming than girls
All hypotheses were statistically supported.
Insight
This study provides a holistic view of how parenting affects teen gaming behavior, not in isolation but through intertwined psychological pathways.
Key Insight 1:
Harsh parenting not only directly affects children’s behavior but weakens their social intelligence—an essential skill for managing emotions and relationships.
Key Insight 2:
Reduced social intelligence leads to heightened aggression, which in turn escalates the risk of pathological gaming.
Thus, it’s not just the games but how adolescents respond to stress and unmet social needs that drive addiction.
Extension of Prior Research:
Unlike previous studies that treat parenting, aggression, or social skills as separate predictors, this model shows how they form a chain reaction: parenting → social intelligence → aggression → gaming addiction.
Future Research Suggestions:
- Explore the influence of peer relationships and teacher support as protective factors.
- Examine these dynamics across cultural contexts, particularly in non-Asian countries.
- Investigate emotion regulation or anxiety as additional mediators.
Clinical Implications
- For Clinicians: Interventions targeting adolescent gaming addiction should include family-based therapy. Enhancing parent–child communication and reducing controlling parenting may be more effective than focusing solely on the teen.
- For Parents: Avoid over-expectation and micromanagement. Instead, encourage autonomy and support social development through open dialogue and emotional validation.
- For Schools and Policymakers: School counselors can screen for social intelligence and aggression as risk indicators. Parenting workshops should be incorporated into prevention programs.
Challenges to Implementation:
- Some parents may resist changing ingrained parenting habits.
- Cultural norms in certain societies may promote authoritarian parenting.
- Adolescents with low social intelligence may still require individualized emotional regulation support.
Strengths
- Longitudinal Design: Tracks real behavioral change over three years, enhancing causal inference.
- Large, Balanced Sample: Almost equal gender split and school-level representation improves generalizability within Korean youth.
- Integrated Theoretical Model: Links family dynamics with psychological and behavioral outcomes.
- Validated Measures: Uses well-established scales adapted for adolescents and gaming behavior.
- Focus on Mediating Variables: Offers a nuanced understanding of how parenting attitudes exert their influence.
Limitations
- Cultural Specificity: All participants were from South Korea. Findings may not generalize across cultures with different parenting norms or gaming habits.
- Self-Report Bias: All data relied on adolescents’ self-assessments, which may be influenced by recall bias or social desirability.
- Excluded Variables: Other relevant factors like peer relationships, depression, or self-esteem were not included.
- Developmental Range: Spanning ages from elementary to high school may obscure age-specific effects unless controlled more precisely.
Socratic Questions
- Why might harsh parenting decrease social intelligence in adolescents?
- Could high aggression lead to pathological gaming even without poor parenting? Why or why not?
- How might a peer support program buffer the effects of negative parenting on gaming?
- If we improve social intelligence in teens, what other behaviors (besides gaming) might also improve?
- What cultural differences in parenting could affect the applicability of this study’s findings?
- Are there circumstances where strict parenting might prevent gaming problems rather than cause them?
- How can clinicians assess whether a teen’s gaming behavior is a coping mechanism for family conflict?
- Could online games ever serve as a positive outlet for socially struggling teens? How do we distinguish healthy from pathological use?
