Parental attachment security and problematic internet use in children: The mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is a growing problem among children. Insecure attachment has been associated with PIU and emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, there is evidence suggesting that maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies (CERS), such as Self-blame, Rumination, Catastrophizing and Other-blame, lead to PIU, nevertheless, the mediating role of CERS between attachment and PIU has not been explored. A sample of 641 children (M = 10.15; SD = .89) participated in the study. The findings showed that there were significant differences between problematic and non-problematic users in terms of secure attachment and emotion dysregulation. Results show a negative association between attachment security and PIU and a negative association between attachment and maladaptive CERS, whilst maladaptive CERS were positively related with PIU. Finally, maladaptive CERS, particularly Rumination, were found to mediate the relationship between attachment security and PIU. However, Catastrophizing and Other Blame partially mediated the relationship between maternal attachment, but not the relationship between Father attachment and PIU. Limitations and implications are discussed, motivating the promotion of prevention and intervention programs. Why was the study done? Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is a growing problem among children. Maladaptive Cognitive emotion dysregulation strategies and insecure attachment have been suggested risk factors for PIU in adolescents. Yet, research focused on children stills in its infancy. On the one hand, according to Garnefski's team, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies are: (1) Self-blame, which occurs when you blame yourself for what happened; (2) Rumination, characterised by thinking all the time about the feelings and thoughts related to a negative event; (3) Catastrophizing involves thoughts emphasizing how horrible an event was; and 4) Other-blame, which consists occurs when you blame others for what happened. On the other hand, attachment is considered a significant and lasting affective bond with main caregivers, characterized by communication, emotional closeness, and trust. What did the researchers do? Researchers sent an invitation letter to participate in this study to parents from different schools in Spain. Parents who were agree that their child participate in the study, provided their written consent. A total of 641 children aged from 9 to 12 participated in the study by answering self-reported questionnaires about PIU, mother and father attachment and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. What did the researchers find? Findings showed that problematic internet users scored significantly lower in secure attachment and significantly greater on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies compared to non-problematic internet users. Results showed that lower security attachment was associated with significantly higher PIU and significantly maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Higher scores on maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies were significantly related with greater PIU levels. What do the findings mean? Results suggests that maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and attachment may be key elements in motivating the promotion of prevention of problematic internet use programs. More research is needed to confirm these findings.

Automated summary

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) is an increasing issue among children. Insecure attachment and maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies (CERS) have been found to be associated with PIU. This study explored the mediating role of CERS between attachment and PIU. The findings showed significant differences between problematic and non-problematic users in terms of attachment and emotion regulation. Maladaptive CERS were found to mediate the relationship between attachment security and PIU. The study highlights the importance of prevention and intervention programs for PIU.