The role of attachment anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty in gaming during adolescence: A two-wave longitudinal study

Adolescents with attachment anxiety can compensate via gaming for their unmet needs of closeness, reassurance, and emotion regulation. However, individual factors linking attachment anxiety to compensation via gaming are still unclear. In this two-wave longitudinal study (Wave 1, W1 = baseline; Wave 2, W2 = 6 months later), we aimed to determine whether intolerance of uncertainty (IU) mediates the link between attachment anxiety and gaming behaviours (gaming compensation, gaming frequency, and problematic gaming). Online questionnaires were administered to Italian adolescent gamers (N = 570; Mage = 15.60; SDage = 1.56; 68.8 % males). First, via path analyses, we tested whether attachment anxiety towards mother and father (W1) and IU (W1) would predict gaming behaviours (W2). Second, we tested whether IU would mediate the link between attachment anxiety and gaming compensation specifically. Multigroup analysis was used to explore gender differences. We found that attachment anxiety towards the mother and father was positively associated with IU, whereas attachment anxiety towards only the mother predicted gaming compensation at W2 both directly and via IU. Moreover, IU positively predicted gaming compensation and problematic gaming at W2. Multigroup analysis further revealed that for females, attachment anxiety towards the mother positively predicted gaming compensation at W2. Findings revealed small/modest effect sizes. Overall, attachment anxiety and IU may boost individuals to compensate via gaming, increasing the risk of problematic gaming. These results hold implications for future prevention interventions, emphasizing the quality of the parent-child relationship and IU as potential targets to foster adaptive coping strategies in adolescence.