How Mothers’ Problematic Smartphone Use Affects Adolescents’ Problematic Smartphone Use: Mediating Roles of Time Mothers Spend with Adolescents and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the serial mediating effects of the time mothers spend with their adolescent children and the adolescents' self-esteem on the relationship between mothers' and adolescents' problematic smartphone use. Patients and Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data extracted from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) in 2018, which comprised data on first-year middle school students. Mediation analysis was conducted using Model 6 of the Hayes' PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: The mediating effect of the time mothers spent with adolescents on the relationship between mothers' and adolescents' problematic smartphone use was significant, but the mediating effect of adolescents' self-esteem was not significant. Mothers' problematic smartphone use was found to significantly affect adolescents' problematic smartphone use by sequentially mediating the time mothers spent with adolescent children and adolescents' self-esteem. Conclusion:It was concluded that, to lower adolescents' problematic smartphone use due to mothers' problematic smartphone use, appropriate interventions should be formulated to help adolescents develop higher self-esteem through sufficient mother-child interaction time.

What makes children aged 10 to 13 engage in problematic smartphone use? A longitudinal study of changing patterns considering individual, parental, and school factors

“…Self-esteem is also an important predictive factor. According to a study by Bae and Nam (2023) , it was confirmed that adolescents' self-esteem and PSU have a negative relationship with each other. Similarly, a study by Li, Liu, and Dong (2019) found that low self-esteem increased the danger of PSU in adolescents.…”