Background

Uncontrollable use of social networking sites/apps has become an emerging issue for youth globally. Existing models and studies on social networking addiction (SNA) have primarily focused on the associative risk factors, and little is known about what individual and environmental factors can effectively shield people, especially adolescents, from developing SNA.

Aims

The present study examined the effects of 15 empirically determined Positive Youth Development (PYD) attributes and parenting behaviors on Hong Kong adolescent's social networking addiction across two waves of longitudinal study.

Method

Using random sampling from all secondary schools in Hong Kong, 12 schools participated in the project with 878 secondary school students completed both waves of questionnaire survey (Wave 1: age = 13.17 ± 0.50 years; Wave 2: age = 15.16 ± 0.46 years). 

Results

Longitudinal data analysis suggests the important protective role of positive development in behavioral competence (the ability to make effective behavioral choices and perform socially acceptable behavior) and belief in the future (having valued and attainable goals and positive expectancies for the future) in reducing Hong Kong adolescent SNA behavior over time, even during the COVID-19. Cross-lagged modeling suggests mutual effects between parental responsiveness and adolescents’ SNA: adolescent SNA in Wave 2 was negatively predicted by paternal responsiveness while positively predicted by maternal responsiveness; both paternal and material responsiveness in Wave 2 were negatively predicted by adolescents SNA in Wave 1. In terms of Internet-specific parenting behavior, only parental own Internet and social media use behavior was positively associated with adolescent SNA. Parental active mediation and restrictive mediation failed to predict changes in adolescent SNA.  

Conclusion

The findings provide important empirical evidence on the protective effects of PYD attributes and paternal responsiveness in preventing SNA and lay the foundations for several important lines of future research.