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      Maybe you should blame your parents: Parental attachment, gender, and problematic Internet use

      review-article
      1 , * , , 2
      Journal of Behavioral Addictions
      Akadémiai Kiadó
      problematic Internet use, Internet addiction, attachment style, gender

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          Abstract

          Background and aims

          Prior research has generally established parental attachment as a predictor of problematic Internet use (PIU). However, findings across studies are inconsistent as to which factor(s) of attachment style (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) contributes to PIU. Another gap in the literature is that as most studies highlight the importance of maternal (over paternal) attachment security in inhibiting PIU, little research has examined the possibility of a gender difference, where maternal and paternal attachment securities may exert different influences on males and females.

          Methods

          An anonymous survey was completed by 243 undergraduate students in a public university in the U.S. Midwest. In addition to demographic information, the survey contained measurement scales to assess PIU and parental attachment (both maternal and paternal).

          Results

          Survey data show that (a) attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, is significantly related to PIU and (b) gender significantly moderates this relationship, where paternal attachment anxiety leads to PIU in female students while maternal attachment anxiety contributes to PIU in male students.

          Conclusions

          This study deepens our understanding in the relationship between family upbringing, particularly parental attachment, and PIU. More specifically, attachment anxiety is found to be a significant predictor of PIU, but attachment avoidance is not. Also, contributing to the research literature is the finding of a significant gender effect in this relationship.

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          Most cited references33

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          A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use

          R.A. Davis (2001)
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            Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions.

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              The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                jba
                2006
                Journal of Behavioral Addictions
                J Behav Addict
                Akadémiai Kiadó (Budapest )
                2062-5871
                2063-5303
                19 August 2016
                September 2016
                : 5
                : 3
                : 524-528
                Affiliations
                [ 1 ]School of Information Technology, Illinois State University , Normal, IL, USA
                [ 2 ]Department of Management and Quantitative Methods, Illinois State University , Normal, IL, USA
                Author notes
                [* ]Corresponding author: Ronnie Jia, PhD; School of Information Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 62901, USA; Phone: +1 309 438 8338; Fax: +1 309 438 5113; E-mail: rjia@ 123456ilstu.edu
                Article
                10.1556/2006.5.2016.059
                5264420
                27554503
                ae4c25e5-e907-40e3-9008-0ce3068dafee
                © 2016 The Author(s)

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 11 November 2015
                : 09 March 2016
                : 26 July 2016
                : 03 August 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 2, Equations: 0, References: 32, Pages: 5
                Funding
                Funding sources: No financial support was received for this study.
                Categories
                Brief Report

                Medicine,Psychology,Social & Behavioral Sciences,Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry
                problematic Internet use,attachment style,Internet addiction,gender

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