Internet Gaming Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Familial Protective and Risk Factors.

Empirical research investigated psycho-social factors associated with the development and maintenance of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in children and adolescents, but their potential role has not been highlighted in systematic reviews. The aims of the current systematic review were to (1) summarize and synthesize findings from empirical research on family factors related to children and adolescents' IGD; (2) identify familial protective and risk factors that are related to the development and maintenance of IGD in children and adolescents, and (3) provide suggestions for future research. A number of 64 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria in the review from the following databases: Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Google Academic, and APA PsycNet. Family variables have been significantly connected to gaming addiction levels in children and adolescents. Results were divided into five main themes: parental mediation, positive parenting, poor parenting, familial disharmony, and familial socioeconomic status. Protective factors included parental knowledge and positive parenting, while poor parenting, familial disharmony and familial socioeconomic status with all their sub-themes represented risk factors. Restrictive mediation and affected parenting provided inconclusive results that deserve further research. Familial connection is imperative for gaming addiction prevention. A stressful familial environment (e.g., parental conflicts) could increase gaming addiction coping behavior. Longitudinal and cross-sectional results provided inconsistent results regarding the role of parental depression and parental mediation in children's gaming addiction development. Cross-cultural studies are needed on familial factors related to children's gaming addiction. Further longitudinal studies could provide answers for conflicting or underexplored areas.