Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and depressive symptoms (DS) are common and often co-occur in adolescents, with insufficient parental autonomy support (PAS) potentially contributing to their development. However, the longitudinal relationship between PAS, IGD, and DS, as well as potential gender differences, remains unclear. Additionally, it is uncertain whether the observed comorbidity between IGD and DS is driven by reciprocal relationships or by common underlying causes. To address this gap, a 1-year longitudinal study with three waves assessed 1,274 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.55 years, 57.85% males). Cross-lagged panel and random-intercept cross-lagged panel analyses were employed to disentangle between-person stability from within-person dynamic processes. The results of random-intercept cross-lagged panels showed that at the between-person level, significant correlations were observed between PAS, IGD, and DS in both male and female adolescents. At the within-person level, temporal fluctuations in PAS predicted subsequent changes in both DS and IGD in males, without reciprocal effects. In females, only the change of PAS predicted the development of DS. These findings suggest that the comorbidity of IGD and DS may arise from shared causes and enhancing PAS may effectively reduce DS in both genders while mitigating IGD vulnerability in males. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Wang et al. (Mon,) studied this question.