Predictors of Problematic Internet Use Among Gifted Children: The Role of Health Literacy and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Beliefs
CHILDREN-BASEL, cilt.13, sa.8, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 8
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3390/children13081110
- Dergi Adı: CHILDREN-BASEL
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, Directory of Open Access Journals, Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background/Objectives: Problematic internet use (PIU) is a growing behavioral health concern among school-aged children. Whether health literacy and health-promoting lifestyle beliefs are associated with PIU among gifted children-a developmentally distinct population-has, to the best of our knowledge, not been investigated. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was used with 118 gifted students (M = 13.80, SD = 2.06) attending a Science and Art Center (B & Idot;LSEM) in & Idot;zmir, T & uuml;rkiye. Data were collected using the Problematic Internet Use Scale-Adolescent Form (PIUS-A; alpha = 0.92), the Health Literacy for School-Aged Children Scale (HLSAC; alpha = 0.87), and the Adolescent Health-Promoting Lifestyle Beliefs Scale (AHPLBS; alpha = 0.91) in a classroom setting under researcher supervision. A three-step hierarchical multiple linear regression was performed, with age, sex, daily sleep duration, daily screen time, and weekly physical activity entered as covariates in the first step. Results: Covariates explained 24.8% of the variance in PIU (p < 0.001), with daily screen time as the strongest predictor (beta = 0.36). Health-promoting lifestyle beliefs added significant incremental variance (Delta R-2 = 0.063, p = 0.023); health beliefs were the only statistically significant belief predictor (beta = -0.24, p = 0.036), with lower health belief scores associated with higher PIU. Health literacy domains did not add statistically significant incremental variance (Delta R-2 = 0.028, p = 0.495), and no individual domain was a statistically significant predictor. Conclusions: Within the constraints of a cross-sectional design, health beliefs appear to play a more prominent role than health literacy in the covariate-adjusted explanation of PIU among gifted school-aged children. School health nurses may prioritize interventions that strengthen internalized health beliefs alongside information-based education, contributing to more equitable, tailored school health services for this population.