Abstract:

The current study aimed to explore the relationship among family function, peer relationships, and Internet adaptation among adolescents of different ages. We recruited 1285 middle and high school students from Beijing who reported their family function, peer relationships, and Internet adaptation. The results of the Pearson correlation showed that family function and peer relationships were significantly positively correlated with positive Internet adaptation while negatively correlated with negative Internet adaptation. Age was negatively associated with positive Internet adaptation and positively correlated with negative Internet adaptation. The results of the moderating effect test indicated that peer relationships enhanced the relationship between family function and positive/negative Internet adaptation. Age moderated the moderating effect of peer relationships on the relationship between family function and positive Internet adaptation but did not play the same role on negative Internet adaptation. With age, the interaction between family function and peer relationships played an increasingly important role in predicting positive Internet adaptation. These results may imply that we can promote the formation of good Internet adaptation from the two aspects of family and peer according to the different ages of adolescents.

Key words: adolescent, family function, peer relationship, age, Internet adaptation