Predictors of Problematic Internet Use Among Gifted Children: The Role of Health Literacy and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Beliefs.

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 (BİLSEM) in İzmir, Türkiye. Data were collected using the Problematic Internet Use Scale-Adolescent Form (PIUS-A; α = 0.92), the Health Literacy for School-Aged Children Scale (HLSAC; α = 0.87), and the Adolescent Health-Promoting Lifestyle Beliefs Scale (AHPLBS; α = 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 (β = 0.36). Health-promoting lifestyle beliefs added significant incremental variance (ΔR2 = 0.063, p = 0.023); health beliefs were the only statistically significant belief predictor (β = -0.24, p = 0.036), with lower health belief scores associated with higher PIU. Health literacy domains did not add statistically significant incremental variance (ΔR2 = 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.