Parental phubbing and adolescent problematic mobile phone use: The role of parent-child relationship and self-control

Abstract At present, adolescent problematic mobile phone use has become a global problem. Phubbing, referring to a person’s use of or being distracted by a mobile phone while in the presence of others or others’ company, has become a common phenomenon in family life. Thus, the present study examined the association between parental phubbing and adolescent problematic mobile phone use and its underlying mechanism – the mediating role of parent-child relationship and moderating role of self-control. A sample of 726 Chinese adolescents was recruited to complete measures on parental phubbing, parent-child relationship, self-control, and problematic mobile phone use. The results indicated that parent-child relationship partially mediated the association between parental phubbing and adolescent problematic mobile phone use. Moreover, both the direct association between parental phubbing and adolescent problematic mobile phone use and the mediating effect of parent-child relationship were moderated by self-control, specifically both these two effects were stronger for individuals with low level of self-control. These findings deepened our understanding of the risk factors of adolescent problematic mobile phone use and parental influences on adolescents.