Record Detail

This study investigated the moderating effect ofchildren’s perceived Internet parenting styles (IPS) on therelationship among their perceived Internet parentingbehaviors (operationalized as warmth and control onInternet use from their parents), Internet expectancy (IE),and Internet addiction tendency (IAT). Participants were3169 Taiwanese junior high school students ages 13–16.Results exhibited a dominance of both authoritative andauthoritarian IPSs. Boys tended to perceive a permissive orneglectful IPS from their parents, while girls tended toperceive an authoritarian or authoritative IPS. IE andcontrol had a consistent positive direct relationship withIAT across all IPS models. The hypothesized indirect effectwas significant for the authoritarian parenting model fromcontrol to IAT and for the neglectful parenting model fromboth warmth and control to IAT. The study result impliedthat the quality of Internet parenting behaviors as demon-strated by different IPSs may be related with changes instudents’ IE and IAT. Evidence from children’s amount ofInternet use, their gender, and parental education levelprovided additional support on the study findings. Thestudy results would shed light on the role of family func-tion on students’ Internet use and provide suggestions onInternet parenting to reduce possible IAT