The relationship between digital parenting attitudes and adolescents' internet addiction: The mediating role of the quality of parent-adolescent relationship

The current study examines the relationships between adolescents' internet addiction, digital parenting attitudes and the quality of parent-adolescent relationship. It is aimed to explore whether the quality of parent-adolescent relationship mediates the relationship between digital parenting attitudes and adolescents' internet addiction. 182 parents who had at least one adolescent child aged between 12-17 constituted the sample group for the study. Data were collected via an online survey form which included demographic information form, Digital Parenting Attitudes Scale (DPAS), Parent-Child Internet Addiction Test (PCIAT20) and Quality of Parent-Adolescent Relationship Questionnaire (QPARQ). For data analyses, SPSS 26 software and Process Macro v4.2. were used. In the study, to analyse the relationships between study variables correlation analyses and to examine the mediating role of the quality of parent-adolescent relationship, mediation analyses were conducted. Additionally, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to analyse the group differences in study variables in relation to demographic variables. Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between digital parenting attitudes that focus on protecting from digital risks and adolescents' internet addiction. In terms of parent-adolescent relationship, adolescents' internet addiction was found to be positively correlated with negative parent-adolescent relationship quality and negatively correlated with positive parent-adolescent relationship quality and disclosure. According to mediation analyses, negative parent-adolescent relationship quality was found to partially mediate the relationship between digital parenting attitudes-protecting from digital risk and adolescents' internet addiction. The results of the study suggest that digital parenting attitudes that balances between protecting from online risks and supporting the effective use of Internet, together with a positive parent-adolescent relationship quality can play a protective role against internet addiction in adolescents. The findings of the study were discussed within digital parenting perspective and in the light of previous research findings in the discussion part, which is followed by contributions and limitations of the study alongside suggestions for parents and future research. Keywords: digital parenting attitudes, internet addiction, quality of parent-adolescent relationship, adolescents, digital parenting.