Peer-reviewed article
Perceived parental differential treatment and internet addiction among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of fairness perception
Xinxin Shi, Junting Hou, Zhiyun Wang ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looked at how adolescents' perception of being treated differently from their siblings by their parents relates to Internet addiction. It surveyed 426 children and adolescents aged 9–19 from non-only-child families in four Chinese provinces. Adolescents who perceived themselves as favoured by their parents reported lower Internet addiction, and self-esteem fully explained this link. Fairness perception changed the link for fathers' treatment, but the effect was only marginally significant. The study is correlational and does not test an intervention.
Key points
- Perceived self-favoritism by parents was significantly negatively correlated with Internet addiction.
- Self-esteem acted as a full mediator in the correlational pathway between perceived parental differential treatment and Internet addiction.
- Fairness perception significantly moderated the association between paternal differential treatment and Internet addiction.
- The negative association between paternal differential treatment and Internet addiction appeared only at high levels of fairness perception, and was marginally significant.
- The sample was 426 non-only children aged 9–19 (mean 13.30) from five schools in Hebei, Henan, Jilin and Shandong.
Limitations
The design is correlational and based on self-report questionnaires with a convenience sample from four provinces, so it cannot show cause and effect or apply to all Chinese adolescents. The abstract does not describe any intervention or its effects.
Abstract
This study explores the correlational associations between perceived parental differential treatment (PDT) and Internet addiction (IA) among Chinese adolescents, as well as the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of fairness perception. A sample of 426 non-only children aged 9–19 years ( M = 13.30, SD = 2.00) was recruited from five schools in Hebei, Henan, Jilin, and Shandong provinces using cluster-based convenience sampling. Participants completed self-report questionnaires, including the Sibling Experience Questionnaire, Young’s Internet Addiction Diagnostic Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and the Fairness Perception Scale. The results indicated that: (1) PDT (perceived self-favoritism) was significantly negatively correlated with IA; (2) self-esteem served as a full mediator in the correlational pathway linking PDT and IA; (3) fairness perception significantly moderated the association between paternal PDT and IA. The negative association between paternal PDT and IA emerged only at high levels of fairness perception, though this conditional association was marginally significant. These findings highlight the potential value of positive self-esteem and perceived fairness for understanding IA among adolescents in multi-child families, providing both theoretical and practical implications for family-based interventions.