Reducing parent-adolescent conflicts about mobile phone use: The role of parenting styles

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the role of parenting styles in reconciling parent-adolescent conflict about adolescents’ mobile phone use, through an examination of the effects of adolescents’ mobile phone use intensity, parenting styles, and their interaction effects on the conflicts. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used to collect a representative sample of 751 middle school students in an eastern province of China. The results indicated a positive relationship between the intensity of adolescents’ mobile phone use and parent-adolescent conflict about mobile phone use. Parental demandingness was related to more conflict, whereas parental responsiveness was related to less conflict. Moreover, moderation analyses revealed that the relationship between the intensity of adolescents’ mobile phone use and parent-adolescent conflict varied based upon the degree of parental demandingness and parental responsiveness. Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature on associations between parenting style and parent-adolescent conflict. Findings from this study provide parents with knowledge to reduce conflict with their children regarding mobile phone use.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Communication in Families with Adolescents

“…Furthermore, in this study, Kim et al (2019) also showed that time spent on a smartphone was positively related to suicide attempts, even after adjusting for conflicts with family members or friends and poor academic performance due to smartphone use [19]. Another study showed a similar pattern of a positive relationship between the intensity of adolescents' smartphone use and parent-adolescent conflicts about smartphone use among adolescents in China [20].…”

The effect of parenting style on anxiety and depression in adolescent girls aged 12–16 years

“…Researchers also have concluded that there is a link between parental abuse and child behavioral disorders. This relationship is significant and shows that the family and especially parents’ behavior during childhood plays a vital role in the occurrence of behavioral disorders in childhood and adulthood [ 17 ].…”

Evaluation of the English Version of the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) among an Adolescent Sample

“…Reverse salience is also related to the criteria of conflict. Parental concern about adolescent smartphone use is common, and approximately one-third of adolescents report daily conflicts with their parents over smartphone use [12][13][14]. From a developmental perspective, the potential for conflict is heightened during adolescence, as the drive for independence and autonomy is a defining feature of this period of life [15].…”

“…Moreover, adolescents view smartphones as facilitating and enhancing their autonomy, allowing them to communicate with peers, use social media, and search the internet without direct parental supervision [16]. Yang and Zhang [14] reported that parental responsiveness (e.g., "I can depend on my parents to help me out if I have a problem") might help to moderate conflict regarding smartphone use. However, they also reported that this approach is less effective as the intensity of smartphone use increases, suggesting that conflict may be inevitable for adolescents displaying problematic smartphone use.…”