Tendency for Digital Game Addiction in Early Childhood: Parental Internet Use and Mediation Strategies

Abstract The increasing use of digital games by preschool-aged children underscores the importance of parental regulation. Parents’ screen time management and mediation strategies influence children’s engagement with digital games. This study examined to what extent parental internet use and mediation strategies relate to children’s tendency for digital game addiction in preschool-aged children. This study followed a quantitative methodology, with a cross-sectional character (Marôco in Análise estatística com o SPSS Statistics. (8ª ed.). ReportNumber, 2021). The sample was collected in Portugal, included 386 parents aged between 21 and 64 years. Data was collected using the Digital Play Addiction Tendency, the Digital Play Parental Mediation, and the Internet Addiction Test. The results indicated that 31% of parents exhibited mild to moderate internet addiction, and 22.8% of children showed moderate to high levels of tendency for digital game addiction. Active mediation was the most used strategy. Parental internet use was positively associated with children’s tendency for addiction, as well as with permissive and incentive-based mediation, and negatively associated with active and technical mediation. Technical mediation was related to life impact, active mediation to disengagement and conflict, and permissive and incentive-based mediation to continuous playing and reflecting on life. Permissive and incentive-based strategies mediated the relationship between parental internet use and children’s tendency for digital game addiction. The study highlights the need for parental education programs on balanced digital game use. Future research could include longitudinal studies and qualitative analyses, incorporating objective measures of digital playtime/device usage, to provide a more accurate view of the digital behaviors of children and parents.