Estimating adolescent’s changes in mobile phone dependence: Testing for the effects of ecological factors on individual differences in the changes

The Effects of Parent’s Smartphone Dependency on Child’s Smartphone Dependency: Serial Mediating Effects of Parenting, Child’s Depression and Aggression

Objectives: This study examined the two-way effect of a parent’s smartphone dependency on child’s smartphone dependency focusing on the serial mediating effects of positive/negative parenting, and child’s depression/aggression.Methods: The sample comprised 2,290 fifth-grade elementary school students and their parents (father or mother). The results of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation were calculated using SPSS 25 and the mediation model was analyzed using AMOS 25.0. The comparison among the serial mediation models was analyzed using AMOS 25.0 syntax.Results: A parent’s smartphone dependency had a significant direct effect on child’s smartphone dependency. The mediating effects of both positive/negative parenting and child’s depression/agression on the relationship between parent’s and child’s smartphone dependency were significant, supporting the serial mediation model. As a parent’s smartphone dependency increased, negative parenting increased while the positive parenting decreased. As negative parenting increased, a child’s depression and aggression did as well, finally leading to higher levels of smartphone dependency in the child. In contrast, as positive parenting increased, the child’s depression and aggression decreased leading to lower levels of smartphone dependency in the child. The path from parent’s to child’s smartphone dependency through negative parenting and aggression had the highest mediation effect.Conclusion: This study showed that the child’s smartphone dependency is affected by not only by childrelated factors (depression and aggression) but also parent-related factors (smartphone dependency and parenting). Additionally, comparing mediational effects, interventions focusing on negative parenting and child’s aggression might be more effective to reduce levels of child smartphone dependency.

Is the relationship between parental abuse and mobile phone dependency (MPD) contingent across neighborhood characteristics? A multilevel analysis of Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey

Research indicates that mobile phone dependency (MPD) is associated with various behavioral and internalizing problems. While a significant amount of findings points to its negative outcomes, there is a dearth of evidence concerning the determinants of MPD. This study focuses on this critical, yet understudied, subject by analyzing the associations between abusive parenting style, neighborhood characteristics, and MPD among youths in South Korea, a country with one of the highest mobile broadband penetration rates in the world. Based on the secondary analysis of two waves of Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), a government-funded multiyear study, we investigate individual- and contextual-level factors underlying MPD. Findings show that, net of a host of time-lagged controls (including baseline dependency from the previous year), abusive parenting style significantly increases adolescent MPD. After adjusting for individual level characteristics, however, no contextual-level effect is found, i.e., residing in a neighborhood with a relatively higher proportion of parental abuse is not related to greater MPD. Finally, two cross-level interaction effects are observed. First, the association between parental abuse and MPD is weaker in a neighborhood context with better educated inhabitants (more college graduates). Second, it is reinforced in demographically “aged” communities with more elderly residents.

Effect of parental neglect on smartphone addiction in adolescents in South Korea

The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance of the relationships with parents, peers, and teachers as a cause of adolescents' smartphone addiction, and to examine the effect of parental neglect on smartphone addiction and the mediating effect of relational maladjustment in school, especially focusing on the relational maladjustment with peers and teachers. For this purpose, a survey was conducted of students from middle schools and high schools in four regions of South Korea. A total of 1170 middle-school students who reported using smartphone took part in this study. A multiple mediator model was analyzed using the bootstrapping mediation methods Parental neglect was significantly associated with adolescents' smartphone addiction. Furthermore, in the relationship between parental neglect and smartphone addiction, parental neglect was not significantly associated with the relational maladjustment with peers, whereas the relational maladjustment with peers negatively influenced smartphone addiction. On the other hand, the relational maladjustment with teachers had a partial mediation effect between parental neglect and smartphone addiction. Based on the results of this study, some implications are suggested that include the need for (1) a customized program for adolescents who use smartphones addictively, (2) a family therapy program to strengthen family function, (3) an integrated case-management system to prevent the reoccurrence of parental neglect, (4) a program to improve relationships with teachers, and (5) expanding the leisure activity infrastructure to improve relationships with friends off-line.