Family Life Satisfaction, Online Gaming Addiction, and Adolescent Flourishing: Moderating Role of Peer Victimization

Digital technologies in recent times have grown exponentially, especially among adolescents, which has raised awareness of their possible adverse social and psychological effects, such as the emergence of online gaming addiction. This framework proposes family life satisfaction as a primary protective factor against online gaming addiction and as an indirect contributor to adolescent flourishing. This research provides a comprehensive model of family, social, and behavioral aspects of adolescent flourishing by examining the mediating role of online gaming addiction and the moderating role of peer victimization among adolescents. Using a cross-sectional research design, the current study allowed researchers to examine how different factors interact with one another among adolescent college students in the North Indian region. The hypotheses were supported, providing important new information about the intricate relationships between adolescent gaming habits, social factors (peer victimization), and family factors. Family life satisfaction was positively associated with adolescent flourishing and negatively associated with online gaming addiction, which revealed the protective effect of the variable against problematic behaviors. On the contrary, higher levels of gaming addiction were related to lower levels of flourishing, and peer victimization emerged as a significant risk factor, whereby adverse peer behavior was associated with higher levels of online gaming addiction and strengthened the relationship between family life satisfaction and gaming addiction.