Parenting styles and Internet addiction in Chinese primary school students: a moderated sequential mediation model of self-control, rejection sensitivity, and achievement motivation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Internet addiction has reached an alarming level in Chinese children, yet the mechanisms linking parenting styles to Internet addiction remain unclear in the Chinese context characterized by intense academic competition and parental authority. Objective: This study examined how Baumrind's parenting styles-conceptualized as a culturally meaningful framework in Chinese contexts where high parental demands coexist with varying levels of warmth-influence children's Internet addiction through sequential mediation of self-control and rejection sensitivity, with achievement motivation-particularly salient during primary school years when motivational orientations develop-as a moderator. Baumrind's parenting style framework provides a culturally meaningful lens for examining parenting patterns in Chinese families, particularly in contexts characterized by high parental demands. Methods: = 11.23 years) from central China who completed measures of parenting styles, self-control, rejection sensitivity, achievement motivation, and Internet addiction. The moderated sequential mediation model was tested using PROCESS Model 88. Results: Authoritative parenting negatively predicted Internet addiction, whereas authoritarian parenting positively predicted it. Permissive parenting showed no direct effect but significantly reduced self-control. Self-control acted as an independent mediator and enabled rejection sensitivity to serve as a subsequent mediator across all parenting styles. Achievement motivation moderated the self-control → Internet addiction path (enhancing protection) and the rejection sensitivity → Internet addiction path (buffering risk). The self-control mediation pathway showed opposite moderation patterns: positive for authoritative parenting but negative for authoritarian and permissive parenting. Conclusion: (discipline) with warmth. They underscore the need for multi-level interventions combining parent education with programs fostering children's self-control and achievement motivation in culturally grounded family contexts.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Authors: Wang Liu, Jie Huang, Yi-Ke Mo, Jia-Xin Guo, Xi Yang, Qi Wu
Institutions: Hunan First Normal University, Hunan Normal University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7126090207