Loneliness, Parent-Child Relationship and Gadget Addiction

Abstract

Loneliness is a sense of being unhappy and alone that frequently occurs in adolescents as a result of family circumstances or poor relationships between children and parents. Loneliness causes a teenager to seek an escape, one of which is a smartphone. Adolescent gadget addiction is indicated by continuous use of gadgets to the point of interfering with daily activities and functions. The objective of this study was to discover the role of loneliness in parent-child relationships and gadget addiction. The Parent Child Relationship Scale (PCRS), the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, and the SAS-SV (Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version) were used in this study. This study included 135 adolescents (85 female respondents and 50 male respondents) aged 13-17 years who used gadgets for more than 11 hours per day or social media for more than 3 hours per day (excluding use for studying). The convenience sampling technique was used. The PROCESS mediation test of Andrew F. Hayes yielded results ((β = 0.466; 95% CI [0.0134, 0.0833]). According to the findings of this study, loneliness contributed to poor parent-child relationships and gadget addiction in adolescents.

Keywords: Gadget addiction; Loneliness; Parent-child relationship.