Parental Perfectionist Expectations and Online Gaming Addiction in Chinese Undergraduates: A Serial Mediating Model of Trait Anxiety and Perceived Stress and the Moderating Role of Flow Experience

The current study developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the effects of parental perfectionist expectations on online gaming addiction and its underlying mechanisms among Chinese undergraduates. 6403 Chinese undergraduates from Guangxi and Sichuan (51.0% males, mean age = 19.17 years) consented to take part in the study. The findings revealed that trait anxiety and perceived stress significantly mediated the relationship between parental perfectionist expectations and online gaming addiction. Moreover, flow experience moderated the effects of parental perfectionist expectations and trait anxiety on online gaming addiction, and this relationship was stronger with higher flow experience. These findings underscore the importance of a relatively comprehensive approach that takes into account both parental and individual factors when designing prevention and intervention strategies for online gaming addiction.