Bullying Victimization, Social Withdrawal, and Problematic Internet Use: A Moderated Mediation Model of Parental Involvement in Education among Korean Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of parental involvement in adolescents’ education on the effects of bullying victimization and social withdrawal on problematic Internet use (PIU) among South Korean adolescents and to further examine whether parental involvement in education moderates the mediating effect of social withdrawal on the association between bullying victimization and PIU. Methods: Data were derived from the 2018 Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS), and the participants consisted of 388 adolescents (mean age = 15.05 years, SD = 0.80). The moderated mediation test was examined by the R software. Results: The current study found significant moderating effects of parental involvement in education on the impacts of bullying victimization and social withdrawal on PIU. In further moderated mediation analyses, findings showed that the mediation effect of social withdrawal on PIU was moderated by parental involvement in education. Conclusions: The findings underscore that parental involvement in education plays significant roles in attenuating the adverse effects of bullying victimization and social withdrawal on PIU. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.