Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The present study examined the potential mediation effects of parental attachment and peer attachment, and the moderating effect of environmental sensitivity between parental technoference and adolescents’ problematic smartphone use. A sample of 908 junior high school students (M_age = 13.41 years, SD = 0.76) anonymously completed questionnaires. The results revealed that : (1) both mother and father attachment could mediate the pathway from parental technoference to adolescents’ problematic smartphone use; (2) adolescent’s environmental sensitivity moderated the direct and indirect pathway between parental technoference, mother attachment, and adolescents’ problematic smartphone use. Specifically, adolescents with higher environmental sensitivity had greater problematic smartphone use when they experienced greater parental technoference. Moreover, adolescents with lower environmental sensitivity exhibited less problematic smartphone use when they had better mother-child attachment. The present study revealed a complex interplay between family and individual factors that contribute to adolescents’ problematic smartphone use.

Keywords

Problematic smartphone use parental technoference attachment environmental sensitivity the moderated mediation model

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ali

R. A.

Alnuaimi

K. M.

Al-Jarrah

I. A.

(2020). Examining the associations between smartphone use and mother–infant bonding and family functioning: A survey design. Nursing and Health Sciences, 22(2), 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12684

Armsden

G. C.

Greenberg

M. T.

(1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16(5), 427–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202939

Aron

E. N.

Aron

(1997). Sensory-Processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.73.2.345

Aron

E. N.

Aron

Jagiellowicz

(2012). Sensory processing sensitivity: A review in the light of the evolution of biological responsivity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(3), 262–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868311434213

Arrivillaga

Rey

Extremera

(2020). Adolescents’ problematic internet and smartphone use is related to suicide ideation: Does emotional intelligence make a difference? Computers in Human Behavior, 110(3), Article 106375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106375

Bandura

(1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.

Bowlby

(1982). Attachment and loss:retrospect and prospect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), 664–678. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x

Bretherton

Munholland

K. A.

(2008). Internal working models in attachment relationships: Elaborating a central construct in attachment theory. In Cassidy

Shaver

P. R.

(Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 102–127). The Guilford Press.

Busch

P. A.

McCarthy

(2021). Antecedents and consequences of problematic smartphone use: A systematic literature review of an emerging research area. Computers in Human Behavior, 114(1), Article 106414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106414

10.

Cilligol Karabey

Palanci

Turan

(2023). How does smartphone addiction affect the lives of adolescents socially and academically? A systematic review study. Psychology Health & Medicine, 29(3), 631–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2023.2229241

11.

Cohen

Doyle

W. J.

Baum

(2006). Socioeconomic status is associated with stress hormones. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68(3), 414–420. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000221236.37158.b9

12.

Deng

L. Y.

Fang

X. Y.

M. M.

Zhang

J. T.

Liu

Q. X.

(2013). Family environment, parent-Child attachment and adolescent Internet addiction. Psychological Development and Education, 29(03), 305–311.

13.

Elias

Lemish

Dalyot

Floegel

(2020). “Where are you?” an observational exploration of parental technoference in public places in the us and Israel. Journal of Children and Media, 15(3), 376–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2020.1815228

14.

Faul

Erdfelder

Lang

A. G.

Buchner

(2007). G* power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146

15.

Fischer-Grote

Kothgassner

O. D.

Felnhofer

(2019). Risk factors for problematic smartphone use in children and adolescents: A review of existing literature. Neuropsychiatry, 33(4), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40211-019-00319-8

16.

Garović

Bralić

Burušić

(2019). Peer attachment, loneliness, emotional autonomy, and smartphone addiction in adolescents: Direct and indirect effects. Child Indicators Research, 12(4), 1355–1370.

17.

Geng

Lei

Ouyang

Nie

Wang

(2021). The influence of perceived parental phubbing on adolescents' problematic smartphone use: A two-wave multiple mediation model. Addictive Behaviors, 121, Article 106995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106995

18.

Hayes

A. F.

(2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression–based approach. Journal of Educational Measurement, 51(3), 335–337.

19.

Jiang

Q. Y.

Wang

X. C.

Liu

Wang

P. C.

Lei

(2021). Effects of parental phubbing on the psychological development of children and adolescents. Psychological Development and Education, 37(1), 137–145. https://doi.org/10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2021.01.17

20.

Jin

Jiang

Xiong

Zhao

(2023). Effects of use motivations and alexithymia on smartphone addiction: Mediating role of insecure attachment. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1227931. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1227931

21.

Konok

Gigler

Bereczky

B. M.

Miklósi

Á.

(2016). Humans’ attachment to their mobile phones and its relationship with interpersonal attachment style. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 537–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.062

22.

Lapierre

M. A.

Zhao

(2017). Parental mediation of children's digital device use: An intersection of parenting and technology. Journal of Children and Media, 11(2), 138–155.

23.

Laura

A. S.

Sarah

M. C.

Laura

M. P.

(2018). Parent and child technoference and socioemotional behavioral outcomes: A nationally representative study of 10- to 20-year-Old adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior, 88, 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.06.034

24.

Leung

(2008). Linking psychological attributes to addiction and improper use of the mobile phone among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Children and Media, 2, 93–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482790802078565

25.

Lin

S. C.

Kehoe

Pozzi

Liontos

Whittle

(2024). Research review: Child emotion regulation mediates the association between family factors and internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents–A meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 65(3), 260–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13894

26.

Lionetti

Aron

E. N.

Aron

Klein

D. N.

Pluess

(2019). Observer-rated environmental sensitivity moderates children’s response to parenting quality in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 55(11), 2389–2402. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000795

27.

Lionetti

Klein

D. N.

Pastore

Aron

E. N.

Aron

Pluess

(2022). The role of environmental sensitivity in the development of rumination and depressive symptoms in childhood: A longitudinal study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(11), 1815–1825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01830-6

28.

Lionetti

Spinelli

Moscardino

Ponzetti

Garito

M. C.

Dellagiulia

Aureli

Fasolo

Pluess

(2023). The interplay between parenting and environmental sensitivity in the prediction of children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors during COVID-19. Development and Psychopathology, 35(3), 1390–1403. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579421001309

29.

Liu

Q. X.

J. Y.

Zhou

Z. K.

Wang

W. J.

(2020). Parental technoference and smartphone addiction in Chinese adolescents: The mediating role of social sensitivity and loneliness. Children and Youth Service Review, 118, Article 105434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105434

30.

Luo

Siu

A. M.

Rogoff

(2020). The role of peer attachment in supplementing parental attachment in children’s development. Developmental Psychology, 56(1), 47–59.

31.

Mackay

L. J.

Komanchuk

Hayden

K. A.

Letourneau

(2022). Impacts of parental technoference on parent-child relationships and child health and developmental outcomes: A scope review protocol. Systematic Reviews, 11(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-022-01918-3

32.

McDaniel

B. T.

Coyne

S. M.

(2014). “Technoference”: The interference of technology in couple relationships and implications for women’s personal and relational wellbeing. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(1), 85–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000065

33.

McDaniel

B. T.

Radesky

J. S.

(2018). Technoference: Parent distraction with technology and associations with child behavior problems. Child Development, 89(1), 100, 109. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12822

34.

Mendez

M. L.

Padrón

Fumero

Marrero

R. J.

(2024). Effects of internet and smartphone addiction on cognitive control in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review of fMRI studies. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 159, Article 105572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105572

35.

Meng

S. Q.

Cheng

J. L.

Y. Y.

Yang

X. Q.

Zheng

J. W.

Chang

X. W.

Shi

Chen

Sun

Bao

Y. P.

Shi

(2022). Global prevalence of digital addiction in general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, Article 102128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102128

36.

Nocentini

Menesini

Pluess

(2018). The personality trait of environmental sensitivity predicts children's positive response to school-based antibullying intervention. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(6), 848–859. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618782194

37.

Noh

Shim

M. S.

(2024). Factors influencing smartphone overdependence among adolescents. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 7725. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58152-1

38.

Olson

J. A.

Sandra

D. A.

Colucci

E. S.

Al Bikaii

Chmoulevitch

Nahas

Raz

Veissière

S. P. L.

(2022). Smartphone addiction is increasing across the world: A metaanalysis of 24 countries. Computer in Human Behaviors, 129, Article 107138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107138

39.

Omar

S. Z.

Daud

Hassan

Bolong

Teimmouri

(2014). Children internet usage: Opportunities for self- development. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 155, 75–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.10.259

40.

Parent

Bond

T. A.

Shapka

J. D.

(2021). Smartphones as attachment targets: An attachment theory framework for understanding problematic smartphone use. Current Psychology, 42(9), 7567–7578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02092-w

41.

Parent

Dadgar

Xiao

Hesse

Shapka

J. D.

(2021). Social disconnection during COVID-19: The role of attachment, fear of missing out, and smartphone use. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(3), 748–763. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12658

42.

Pfeifer

J. H.

Blakemore

S. J.

(2012). Adolescent social cognitive and affective neuroscience: Past, present, and future. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 7(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsr099

43.

Pluess

(2015). Individual differences in environmental sensitivity. Child Development Perspective, 9(3), 138–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12120

44.

Pluess

Assary

Lionetti

Lester

K. J.

Krapohl

Aron

E. N.

Aron

(2018). Environmental sensitivity in children: Development of the highly sensitive child scale and identification of sensitivity groups. Developmental Psychology, 54(1), 51–70. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000406

45.

Qiao

Liu

Q. X.

(2020). The effect of technoference in parent-child relationships on adolescent smartphone addiction: The role of cognitive factors. Children and Youth Service Review, 118, Article 105340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105340

46.

Radesky

Miller

A. L.

Rosenblum

K. L.

Appugliese

Kaciroti

Lumeng

J. C.

(2015). Maternal mobile device use during a structured parent–child interaction task. Academic Pediatrics, 15(2), 238–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2014.10.001

47.

Radesky

J. S.

Kistin

C. J.

Zuckerman

Nitzberg

Gross

Kaplan-Sanoff

Augustyn

Silverstein

(2014). Patterns of mobile device use by caregivers and children during meals in fast food restaurants. Pediatrics, 133(4), 843–849. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3703

48.

Schweizer

Berchtold

Barrense-Dias

Akre

Suris

J. C.

(2017). Adolescents with a smartphone sleep less than their peers. European Journal of Pediatrics, 176(1), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-016-2823-6

49.

Shao

Zhu

Lei

Jiang

Wang

Zhang

(2024). The relationship of parent-child technoference and child problematic smartphone use: The roles of parent-child relationship, negative parenting styles, and children’s gender. Psychology Research and Behavior Management. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S456411

50.

Slagt

Dubas

J. S.

van Aken

M. A.

Ellis

B. J.

Deković

(2018). Sensory processing sensitivity as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting. Developmental Psychology, 54(3), 543–558. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000431

51.

Smolewska

K. A.

McCabe

S. B.

Woody

E. Z.

(2006). A psychometric evaluation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale: The components of sensoryprocessing sensitivity and their relation to the BIS/BAS and“Big Five”. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(6), 1269–1279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.09.022

52.

Soh

P. C. H.

Chew

K. W.

Koay

K. Y.

Ang

P. H.

(2018). Parents vs peers’ influence on teenagers’ Internet addiction and risky online activities. Telematics and Informatics, 35(1), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.11.003

53.

Stockdale

L. A.

Coyne

S. M.

Padilla-Walker

L. M.

54.

Warmoth

Buehler

Gerard

J. M.

DeLay

Luecken

L. J.

(2020). The role of mother–adolescent relationships in shaping adolescent regulatory capacities across a decade: An ecological perspective. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(10), 1943–1957.

55.

Whaley

S. E.

Kim

J. J.

Glascoe

F. P.

(2014). Enhancing parent-child communication and parental competence: An intervention effectiveness study. Journal of Child Health, 50(2), 215–219.

56.

X. J.

Zhang

L. J.

Yang

Zhu

T. Y.

Meiqiu Xiang

M. Q.

G. Q.

(2022). Parents can’t see me, can peers see me? Parental phubbing and adolescents’ peer alienation via the mediating role of parental rejection. Child Abuse & Neglect, 132(07). Article 105806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105806

57.

Xie

Chen

Zhu

(2019). Parents’ phubbing increases Adolescents' Mobile phone addiction: Roles of parent-child attachment, deviant peers, and gender. Children and Youth Services Review, 105, Article 104426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104426

58.

Yang

X. H.

Jiang

Zhu

L. Q.

(2023). Parental problematic smartphone use and children’s executive function: The mediating role of technoference and the moderating role of children’s age. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 63, 219–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.12.017

59.

Yang

X. J.

Zhu

Chen

Song

P. P.

Wang

Z. H.

(2016). Parent marital conflict and internet addiction among Chinese college students: The mediating role of father-child, mother-child, and peer attachment. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.041

60.

Yao

Hou

Yang

(2024). The co-occurrence of adolescent smartphone addiction and academic burnout: The role of smartphone stress and digital flourishing. Education and Information Technologies, 30(4), 4987–5007. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-13017-y

61.

Zhang Liu

Q. X.

Deng

L. Y.

Fang

X. Y.

Liu

C. Y.

Lan

(2011). Parents-adolescents relations and adolescent's internet addiction: The mediation effect of loneliness. Psychological Development and Education, 84(06), 641–647.

62.

Zhou

Long

L. R.

(2004). Statistical test and control methods for common method deviation. Advances in Psychological Science, 12(6), 942–950.

63.

Zurcher

J. D.

King

Callister

Stockdale

Coyne

S. M.

(2020). “I can multitask”: The mediating role of media consumption on executive function's relationship to technoference attitudes. Computers in Human Behavior, 113, Article 106498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106498

Techonoference and Problematic Smartphone Use: The Roles of Attachment and Environmental Sensitivity

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References