Dysfunctional parenting and technological addictions: The role of parental psychological control

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Maria Cristina Gugliandolo, Valeria Verrastro, Francesca Liga
Publishing Year 2019 Issue 2019/3
Language Italian Pages 20 P. 55-74 File size 371 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2019-003005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Recent studies have shown that dysfunctional parenting practices, such as psychological control, correlate with maladaptive outcomes in offspring. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanisms underlying the emergence of a dependent use of new technolo-gies. 311 participants, aged 18 to 26, completed some questionnaires. The results highlight-ed a relationship between psychological control and Internet, smartphone and social net-work addictions, through the mediation of susceptibility to control. This study contributes to the advancement of the literature regarding the combination of social and personal factors in the aetiology of new addictions and offers insights into the possibility of considering psychological control as a form of emotional abuse.

Keywords: Psychological control, susceptibility to control, internet addiction, smartphone addiction, Facebook addiction.

  1. Ferraro, G., Caci, B., D’amico, A., & Blasi, M. D. (2006). Internet addiction disorder: an Italian study. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 10, 170-175.
  2. Andreassen, C. S., Griffiths, M. D., Gjertsen, S. R., Krossbakken, E., Kvam, S., & Pallesen, S. (2013). The relationships between behavioral addictions and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(2), 90-99. DOI: 10.1556/JBA.2.2013.003
  3. Andreassen, C. S., Torsheim, T., Brunborg, G. S., & Pallesen, S. (2012). Development of a Facebook addiction scale. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 501-517. DOI: 10.2466/02.09.18.PR0.110.2.501-517
  4. Arslan, G. (2017). Psychological maltreatment, forgiveness, mindfulness, and internet addiction among young adults: A study of mediation effect. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 57-66.
  5. Baker, T. B., Piper, M. E., McCarthy, D. E., Majeskie, M. R., & Fiore, M. C. (2004). Addiction motivation reformulated: An affective processing model of negative reinforcement. Psychological Review, 111, 33-51. DOI: 10.1037/0033-295X.111.1.33
  6. Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67(6), 3296-3319.
  7. Barber, B. K., Bean, R. L., & Erickson, L. D. (2002). Expanding the study and understanding of psychological control. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 263-289). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/10422-009
  8. Barber, B. K., & Harmon, E. L. (2002). Violating the self: Parental psychological control of children and adolescents. In B. K. Barber (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/10422-002
  9. Barber, B. K., Stolz, H. E., Olsen, J. A., Collins, W. A., & Burchinal, M. (2005). Parental support, psychological control, and behavioral control: Assessing relevance across time, culture, and method. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, i-147.
  10. Barke, A., Nyenhuis, N., & Kröner-Herwig, B. (2012). The German version of the internet addiction test: A validation study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15, 534-542.
  11. Bianchi, A., & Phillips, J. G. (2005). Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 8(1), 39-51.
  12. Camisasca, E., & Miragoli, S. (2014). Stress post-traumatico in esperienze di violenza cronica. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 16(2), 7-11. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-002001
  13. Coffman, D. L., & MacCallum, R. C. (2005). Using parcels to convert path analysis models into latent variable models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 40(2), 235-259.
  14. Costa, S., Cuzzocrea, F., & Nuzzaci, A. (2014). Use of the Internet in Educative Informal Contexts. Implication for Formal Education. Comunicar, 22(43), 163-171. DOI: 10.3916/C43-2014-16
  15. Costa, S., Hausenblas, H. A., Oliva, P., Cuzzocrea, F., & Larcan, R. (2015). Perceived parental psychological control and exercise dependence symptoms in competitive athletes. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 13(1), 59-72.
  16. Dentale, F., Verrastro, V., Petruccelli, I., Diotaiuti, P., Petruccelli, F., Cappelli, L., & San Martini, P. (2015). Relationship between parental narcissism and children’s mental vulnerability: Mediation role of rearing style. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 15(3), 337-347.
  17. Eleuteri, S., Saladino, V., & Verrastro, V. (2017). Identity, relationships, sexuality, and risky behaviors of adolescents in the context of social media. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 32(3-4), 354-365. DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2017.1397953
  18. Floros, G., & Siomos, K. (2013). The relationship between optimal parenting, Internet addiction and motives for social networking in adolescence. Psychiatry Research, 209(3), 529-534.
  19. Griffiths, M. (1995). Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum, 1, 14-19.
  20. Griffiths, M. (2005). A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10(4), 191-197.
  21. Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Social networking addiction: Emerging themes and issues. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 4(5).
  22. Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., & Ortiz de Gortari, A. (2017). Videogames as therapy: An updated selective review of the medical and psychological literature. International Journal of Privacy and Health Information Management, 5(2), 71-96. DOI: 10.4018/IJPHIM.2017070105
  23. Gugliandolo, M. C., Costa, S., Cuzzocrea, F., & Larcan, R. (2015). Trait emotional intelligence as mediator between psychological control and behaviour problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1, 1-11.
  24. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (Vol. 6).
  25. Hsieh, Y. P., Shen, A. C. T., Wei, H. S., Feng, J. Y., Huang, S. C. Y., & Hwa, H. L. (2016). Associations between child maltreatment, PTSD, and internet addiction among Taiwanese students. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 209-214.
  26. Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55. DOI: 10.1080/10705519909540118
  27. Jelenchick, L. A., Becker, T., & Moreno, M. A. (2012). Assessing the psychometric properties of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) in US college students. Psychiatry Research, 196, 296-301.
  28. Kanjo, E., Kuss, D. J., & Ang, C. S. (2017). NotiMind: Responses to smartphone notifications as affective sensors. IEEE Access, 5, 22023-22035. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2755661
  29. Krutka, D. G., Nowell, S., & Whitlock, A. M. (2017). Towards a social media pedagogy: Successes and shortcomings in educative uses of Twitter with teacher candidates. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 25(2), 215-240.
  30. Kuss, D. J., & Billieux, J. (2017). Technological addictions: Conceptualisation, measurement, etiology and treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 64, 231-233.
  31. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2011). Online social networking and addiction: A review of the psychological literature. International Journal of Environmental Research of Public Health, 8, 3528-3552.
  32. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(1), 3-22. DOI: 10.1556/JBA.1.2012.1.1
  33. Kuss, D. J., Kanjo, E., Crook-Rumsey, M., Kibowski, F., Wang, G. Y., & Sumich, A. (2018). Problematic mobile phone use and addiction across generations: The roles of psychopathological symptoms and smartphone use. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 1, 1-9.
  34. Lee, H. W., Choi, J. S., Shin, Y. C., Lee, J. Y., Jung, H. Y., & Kwon, J. S. (2012). Impulsivity in internet addiction: A comparison with pathological gambling. Cyber Psychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(7), 373-377.
  35. León-del-Barco, B., Mendo-Lázaro, S., Polo-del-Río, M. I., & López-Ramos, V. M. (2019). Parental psychological control and emotional and behavioral disorders among Spanish adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3), 507.
  36. Leung, L. (2007). Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self-esteem, addiction symptoms and patterns of mobile phone use. In E. A. Konijn, M. A. Tanis, S. Utz & A. Linden (Eds.), Mediated interpersonal communication. New York, NY: Routledge.
  37. Leung, L. (2008). Linking psychological attributes to addiction and improper use of the mobile phone among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Children and Media, 2, 93-113. DOI: 10.1080/17482790802078565
  38. Li, S., Lei, H., & Tian, L. (2018). A meta-analysis of the relationship between parenting style and Internet addiction among mainland Chinese teenagers. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 46(9), 1475-1487.
  39. Li, W., Garland, E. L., & Howard, M. O. (2014). Family factors in Internet addiction among Chinese youth: A review of English-and Chinese-language studies. Computers in Human Behavior, 31, 393-411.
  40. Li, X., Li, D., & Newman, J. (2013). Parental behavioral and psychological control and problematic Internet use among Chinese adolescents: The mediating role of self-control. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(6), 442-447.
  41. Liga F., Ingoglia S., Inguglia C., Lo Coco A., Lo Cricchio M.G., Musso P., Cheah C., Rose L., Gutow M. (2017). Associations among psychologically controlling parenting, autonomy, relatedness, and problem behaviors during emerging adulthood. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 151(4), 393-415. DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2017.1305323
  42. Liga, F., Lo Coco, A., Musso, P., Inguglia, C., Lo Cricchio, M. G., Ingoglia, S.(2018). Parental psychological control, autonomy support and Italian emerging adults’ psychosocial well-being: A cluster-analytic approach. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, first on-line. DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2018.1532887
  43. Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 151-173. DOI: 10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1
  44. Liu, C. Y., & Kuo, F. Y. (2007). A study of Internet addiction through the lens of the interpersonal theory. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 10(6), 799-804.
  45. Loukas, A., Paulos, S. K., & Robinson, S. (2005). Early adolescent social and overt aggression: Examining the roles of social anxiety and maternal psychological control. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(4), 335-345.
  46. MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 83. DOI: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.83
  47. Mazaheri, M. A., & Karbasi, M. (2014). Validity and reliability of the Persian version of mobile phone addiction scale. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: The Official Journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 19, 139-144.
  48. Meissner, W. W. (1988). Treatment of patients in the borderline spectrum. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
  49. Milani, L., La Torre, G., Fiore, M., Grumi, S., Gentile, D. A., Ferrante, M., ... & Di Blasio, P. (2018). Internet gaming addiction in adolescence: risk factors and maladjustment correlates. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 16(4), 888-904.
  50. Ni, X., Yan, H., Chen, S., Liu, Z. (2009). Factors Influencing Addiction in a Sample of Freshmen University Students in China. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 12(3), 327-330.
  51. Palladino, B. E., Pini, S., Nocentini, A., & Menesini, E. (2014). Il ciclo della violenza: maltrattamento familiare, bullismo e dating aggression psicologico. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 3, 29-46. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-003003
  52. Paul, E., & Eckenrode, J. (2015). Childhood psychological maltreatment subtypes and adolescent depressive symptoms. Child Abuse & Neglect, 47, 38-47.
  53. Pinquart, M. (2017). Associations of parenting dimensions and styles with externalizing problems of children and adolescents: An updated meta-analysis. Developmental Psychology, 53(5), 873.
  54. Poli, R., & Agrimi, E. (2012). Internet addiction disorder: prevalence in an Italian student population. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 66, 55-59. DOI: 10.3109/08039488.2011.605169
  55. Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879-891. DOI: 10.3758/BRM.40.3.879
  56. Rathert, J., Fite, P. J., & Gaertner, A. E. (2011). Associations between effortful control, psychological control and proactive and reactive aggression. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 42(5), 609.
  57. Rivelis, E. (2008). Is parental psychological control a form of psychological maltreatment? New York: Columbia University Press.
  58. Roberts, J. A., & Pirog III, S. F. (2012). A preliminary investigation of materialism and impulsiveness as predictors of technological addictions among young adults. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2(1), 56-62. DOI: 10.1556/JBA.1.2012.011
  59. Ryan, R. M., & Connell, J. P. (1989). Perceived locus of causality and internalization: Examining reasons for acting in two domains. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 749-761. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749
  60. Schüler, J., Sheldon, K. M., Prentice, M., & Halusic, M. (2016). Do some people need autonomy more than others? Implicit dispositions toward autonomy moderate the effects of felt autonomy on well‐being. Journal of Personality, 84(1), 5-20.
  61. Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and non-experimental studies: new procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422. DOI: 10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422
  62. Soenens, B., Park, S. Y., Vansteenkiste, M., & Mouratidis, A. (2012). Perceived parental psychological control and adolescent depressive experiences: A cross-cultural study with Belgian and South-Korean adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 35(2), 261-272.
  63. Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Goossens, L., Duriez, B., & Niemiec, C. P. (2008). The intervening role of relational aggression between psychological control and friendship quality. Social Development, 17(3), 661-681.
  64. Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental psychological control: Proposing new insights on the basis of self-determination theory. Developmental Review, 30(1), 74-99.
  65. Van Deursen, A. J., Bolle, C. L., Hegner, S. M., & Kommers, P. A. (2015). Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior: The role of smartphone usage types, emotional intelligence, social stress, self-regulation, age, and gender. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 411-420.
  66. Verrocchio, M. C. (2014). Il maltrattamento psicologico: caratteristiche e conseguenze. Maltrattamento e abuso all’infanzia, 16(1), 11-35. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-001002
  67. Xiuqin, H., Huimin, Z., Mengchen, L., Jinan, W., Ying, Z., & Ran, T. (2010). Mental health, personality, and parental rearing styles of adolescents with Internet addiction disorder. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13(4), 401-406.
  68. Weinstein, N., Przybylski, A. K., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). The index of autonomous functioning: Development of a scale of human autonomy. Journal of Research in Personality, 46(4), 397-413.
  69. Yaden, D. B., Eichstaedt, J. C., & Medaglia, J. D. (2018). The future of technology in positive psychology: methodological advances in the science of well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1-11.
  70. Yates, T. M., Gregor, M. A., & Haviland, M. G. (2012). Child maltreatment, alexithymia, and problematic internet use in young adulthood. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(4), 219-225.
  71. Young, K. (1998). Caught in the net. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Maria Cristina Gugliandolo, Valeria Verrastro, Francesca Liga, Parenting invalidante e dipendenze tecnologiche: il ruolo del controllo psicologico genitoriale in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 3/2019, pp 55-74, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2019-003005