Student-student relationship and adolescent problematic smartphone use: The mediating role of materialism and the moderating role of narcissism

Abstract Although recent studies have documented that student-student relationship (SSR) is associated with adolescents’ problematic smartphone use (PSU), the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unexplored. In the present study, we investigated the mediating role of materialism in the association between SSR and adolescents’ PSU as well as the moderating role of narcissism in the direct and indirect pathways between SSR and PSU. Seven hundred and twelve adolescents completed the measures of SSR, PSU, materialism, and narcissism. The results indicated that SSR was negatively associated with PSU, and materialism mediated this association. In addition, narcissism moderated the association between SSR and materialism and the link between materialism and PSU. Specifically, adolescents with high levels of narcissism are less likely to prioritize materialism when they are in poor SSR, while they are more likely to have a higher level of PSU when they are high in materialism. Altogether, these findings highlight the important roles of materialism and narcissism in the association between SSR and adolescents’ PSU.