Clarifying the associations among risky behaviors, tendency to violence, perceived emotional abuse from the family and internet gaming disorder in adolescents

The main purpose of this study was to clarify the associations among risky behaviors, tendency to violence, perceived emotional abuse from the family and internet gaming disorder in adolescents. The second aim of the study was to examine the mediating role of risky behaviors and violence tendency in the relationship between emotional abuse perceived by the family and internet gaming disorder. For these purposes, a correlational design based on the quantitative research approach was used in the study. The study group of the research consisted of 408 high school students who continue their education in various high schools in a province in the Central Black Sea Region in the 2021-2022 academic year. Personal Information Form, The Second Short Form of Perception Psychological Maltreatment Inventory For Adolescents, Internet Gaming Disorder Scale Short Form, Violence Tendency Scale and Risky Behaviors Scale were used as measures in the study. Data from participants were analyzed using SPSS 25 and SPSS Process Macro. The relationship between the variables was examined by correlation and mediation analysis. As a result, it was observed that there was a positive and significant relationship between risky behaviors, tendency to violence, perceived emotional abuse from the family and internet gaming disorder in adolescents. In addition, as a result of the mediation analysis, it was found that emotional abuse perceived from the family was effective in the development of internet gaming disorder in adolescents, together with the tendency to violence and risky behaviors.