International Open Access Journal Platform

Mechanisms of Family Interventions on Adolescent Gaming Addiction: The Mediating Roles of Autonomy Support and Psychological Reactance

Guide to Education Innovation / 2025,5(4): 128-142 / 2025-11-25 33 20

View Download PDF

• Authors: Chonghao Yang¹ Zengquan Fang¹ Wenbo Kuang²
• Information:

  1. Beijing Normal University, Beijing;
  2. Renmin University of China, Beijing

• Keywords:
  Family intervention; Adolescent gaming addiction; Autonomy support; Psychological reactance; Parent-child relationship
• Abstract: This study investigates how diverse family intervention strategies influence adolescent gaming addiction through underlying psychological mechanisms. A structural equation model was developed using autonomy support and psychological reactance as mediators, and parent-child relationships as moderators. Data from 2,419 secondary school students were analyzed via SmartPLS. Results indicate that active assistance mitigates gaming addiction by enhancing autonomy support and reducing psychological reactance, whereas permissiveness, restrictive constraint, and monitoring exacerbate addiction indirectly by weakening autonomy or intensifying reactance. Co-playing observation produced offsetting mediations, reflecting its dual activation of psychological processes. Moreover, father-child and mother-child relationships demonstrated opposite moderating effects on the autonomy - addiction path. The study advances theoretical understanding of familybased media behavior regulation and provides empirical guidance for evidence-based interventions promoting adolescents’ digital well-being.
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.35534/gei.0504015 (registering DOI)
• Cite: Yang, C. H., Fang, Z. Q., & Kuang, W. B. (2025). Mechanisms of Family Interventions on Adolescent Gaming Addiction: The Mediating Roles of Autonomy Support and Psychological Reactance. Guide to Education Innovation, 5(4), 128-142.