Peer-reviewed article
DIGITAL PARENTING SELF-EFFICACY AND DIGITAL GAMING ADDICTION IN CHILDREN
Vesile Sağlam, Erdal Çetin, Derya KAVGAOĞLU, Aylin Akınlar ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined 431 parent-child pairs in Turkey to understand how parents' digital parenting skills relate to children's gaming addiction. Researchers found that about 8.6% of children showed signs of addiction or high addiction to digital games, with boys more affected than girls. Parents' knowledge about digital safety and literacy predicted whether children developed gaming addiction, though the relationship was complex. The research suggests that parental digital competencies matter for protecting children from problematic gaming behavior.
Key points
- 8.6% of children were classified as addicted or highly addicted to digital games; 31.3% were at-risk
- Boys scored significantly higher on digital game addiction than girls
- Parents' digital literacy and digital safety competencies significantly predicted children's digital game addiction
- Parents with lower education levels, more children, and less internet experience had lower digital parenting self-efficacy
- No significant difference in parental digital literacy and communication scores by parent gender, but male parents scored higher on digital safety
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study describing correlations rather than cause-and-effect relationships; it cannot determine whether parental digital competencies prevent addiction or whether children with addiction affect parental confidence. The study does not provide information about intervention effectiveness or longitudinal outcomes.
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between parents' digital parenting self-efficacy and children's digital game addiction. Employing a quantitative approach, data were collected from 431 parent-child dyads using the Digital Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale, the Digital Game Addiction Scale for Children, and demographic information forms. The findings related to game addiction revealed that 5.1% of the children were in the standard group, 55% in the low-risk group, 31.3% in the at-risk group, 7.2% in the addicted group, and 1.4% in the highly addicted group. Boys exhibited higher digital game addiction scores compared to girls. While parents' scores on digital literacy and communication did not differ significantly by gender, male participants scored higher in digital safety. Parents' education level, number of children, and years of internet use significantly influenced their digital parenting self-efficacy. Parents with elementary and middle school education levels, five or more children, and internet use limited to one year or less had lower levels of digital self-efficacy. Although no statistically significant differences were found between parents’ sub-dimension scores in digital parenting and children’s levels of game addiction, regression analysis showed that parents’ digital literacy and digital safety significantly predicted children’s digital game addiction. These findings highlight the complex interaction between parents’ digital competencies and children’s digital behaviors.