Tackling Online Gaming Addiction among Adolescents: The Role of Parental Resilience and Parenting Styles: An Abstract

Online gaming addiction is a globally pervasive challenge and a major health problem that is affecting the societal fabric (Basol and Kaya 2018). The prevalent rate of internet addiction varies from 12.6% to 67.5% globally (Kuss et al. 2021). Hence, Interventions to tackle the problem of online gaming addiction is of utmost importance (Kuss et al. 2021). Therefore, the proposed study seeks to address the problem of online gaming addiction among adolescents (age 12–19 years) by adopting a novel resilience-based approach.

This research study grapples with two important research objectives. Firstly, the research will examine the role of parental resilience in avoiding/reducing online gaming addiction and identify the types of resilience tactics that can control and/or reduce gaming addiction among adolescents. Secondly, using secondary data sources, we wish to examine the pervasiveness of online gaming addiction among the adolescents to demonstrate the acuteness of the problem and the challenge it poses for the present and the future of the society.

The study will be divided into three phases (Secondary data-based review, qualitative exploration, and quantitative examination) followed by dissemination activities. So far, we have covered up phase 1 and Phase 2 of the study. Phase 1 – Secondary data-based review: The aim of this phase was to examine the current literature around online gaming addiction globally and identify the nature and pervasiveness of the problem. The review involved a study of 50 most cited papers in online gaming addiction domain within the last decade. Phase 2 – Qualitative exploration: The second phase of the study involved in-depth dyadic interviews with parents (n = 10) of adolescents in India. The interviews focused on the online gaming habits of children, parental interaction with their kids (parenting styles) and varying resilient behaviour observed among parents.

We believe that our qualitative study makes an important contribution both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, it addresses a vast gap in the literature of online gaming addiction by showcasing parenting styles play an important role in controlling/reducing online gaming addiction among adolescents. Practically, the study has substantial implications for policy makers as well. Based on the findings of the study, policy makers can design interventions and training programmes that address the challenge of online gaming addiction through the aspects of resilience and parenting styles.