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Addictive Internet Use and Parenting Patterns Among Secondary School Students in Guangzhou and Hong Kong

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Abstract

Parenting can possibly prevent addictive Internet use among schoolchildren. To explore such a possibility, this study surveyed 1,771 secondary school students (Grades 10 and 11) in Guangzhou and Hong Kong about their addictive Internet use and the parenting style they experienced. Five distinguishable patterns emerged from the cluster analysis of three parenting styles, permissive, authoritarian, and flexible parenting. The “high or inconsistent” parenting pattern, which attained high scores in all three parenting styles, exhibited the least degree of addictive Internet use among the students. By contrast, authoritarian parenting pattern resulted in the highest level of addictive Internet use. The variation caused by the parenting patterns far exceeded that caused by parenting styles. The results indicate that balanced parenting will most likely prevent students’ addictive Internet use.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a Grant from the City University of Hong Kong (Grant No. 9610206). The authors wish to thank Zhining Li of the Middle School affiliated with South China Normal University Guangzhou for helping with data collection in Guangzhou.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 518000, China

    Chau-kiu Cheung, Xiao Dong Yue & Dennis Sing-wing Wong

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  1. Chau-kiu Cheung
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  2. Xiao Dong Yue
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Correspondence to Chau-kiu Cheung.

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Cheung, Ck., Yue, X.D. & Wong, D.Sw. Addictive Internet Use and Parenting Patterns Among Secondary School Students in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. J Child Fam Stud 24, 2301–2309 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0033-2

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