The Links Between Maternal Parenting and Problematic Gaming Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Cross-National Comparative Study

Previous cross-cultural comparative studies have shown that the prevalence of problematic gaming behaviors varies across cultures. The current study tested the extent to which maternal support and monitoring was negatively associated with problematic gaming behaviors and psychological control positively associated. Importantly, it tested whether these relationships varied across cultures. Data were collected from N = 414 Macedonian, N = 670 Finnish, and N = 153 US adolescents (50.8% girls, M_age = 16.21, SD =.50) attending high schools. Mean level differences were found on parenting measures across the three countries; however, very few differences existed on the three problematic gaming measures. Based on a path model with a fully latent problematic gaming trait, maternal support in particular was negatively associated with problematic gaming, while maternal psychological control was positively associated. Maternal monitoring was unrelated in the model. Importantly, the tested relationships part of the model did not vary across the three cultures based on multigroup model tests. Study findings are discussed in terms of the importance of particular parenting processes for understanding problematic gaming behaviors among adolescents.