Perceived autonomy-supportive parenting and internet addiction: respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderated the mediating effect of basic psychological need satisfaction

Based on the biopsychosocial model of Internet addiction, this study tested a moderated mediation model of familial (i.e., perceived autonomy-supportive parenting), psychological (i.e., need satisfaction) and biological (i.e., baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) factors to investigate how they jointly impact Internet addiction in emerging adults; specifically, we explored whether RSA moderated the mediating effect of need satisfaction on the relation between perceived autonomy-supportive parenting and Internet addiction. A total of 146 Chinese undergraduates completed questionnaires on autonomy-supportive parenting, need satisfaction and Internet addiction. RSA data were also obtained. Path analysis was used to test the proposed mediation and moderated mediation models. The results indicated that while the impact of perceived autonomy-supportive parenting on Internet addiction was mediated by need satisfaction, RSA moderated this indirect effect. The indirect effect of autonomy-supportive parenting on Internet addiction via need satisfaction was much stronger in adults with low levels of RSA than in those with high levels of RSA. Our findings highlight the joint impact of biological, psychological, and social-environmental factors on Internet addiction and have important implications for the prevention of and intervention against emerging adults’ Internet addiction.