The mediating effect of parental monitoring in the association between parent–child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction: findings from a nationwide youth survey in China

Mar 29, 2025BMC public health

How Parental Monitoring Links Parent-Child Harmony to Smartphone Addiction in Chinese Youth

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Abstract

mediated 48.14% of the association between parent-child relationship harmony and among 9,270 Chinese youth.

A significant portion of youth smartphone addiction is linked to the quality of parent-child relationships.
Parental monitoring serves as a mediator in this association, with differences observed across gender and age groups.
negatively moderates the effect of parental monitoring on smartphone addiction, indicating that higher self-control may reduce this indirect effect.
The findings suggest that enhancing parental monitoring could be beneficial in addressing smartphone addiction among youth.

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BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of among youth has raised concerns. Previous research has indicated that poor parent-child relationship can lead to youth smartphone addiction. However, parent-child relationship harmony involves multiple parties and is difficult to intervene in due to family authority and other factors. Focusing on the pathways between parent-child relationships harmony and smartphone addiction is crucial for preventing smartphone addiction. This study was conducted to examine the role of as a mediator and the role of as a moderator in the association between the parent-child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction among Chinese youth.

METHODS: The nationwide survey included 9,270 youth in the Chinese mainland. The data collected included individual characteristics, smartphone addiction status, parent‒child relationship harmony, parental monitoring and self-control were collected. Sample weights were applied to ensure that the composition of our sample was consistent with the official statistics for each provincial-level administrative division on gender and school type. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the mediating effect of parental monitoring and the moderating effect of self-control in the association between the parent-child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction.

RESULTS: Among the 10,000 weighted participants, 5,166 (51.7%) were male, and 3,608 (36.0%) were aged 16 to 18 years. Parental monitoring mediated 48.14% (95% CI: 40.24 to 56.03) of the association between the parent‒child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction. The partial mediating effect of parental monitoring was differed across gender and age groups, and there was no significant heterogeneity. Moreover, self-control negatively moderated the indirect effects of parental monitoring on smartphone addiction (β = -0.12, 95% CI: -0.57 to -0.38), and the mediating effect of parental monitoring decreased as self-control increased.

CONCLUSION: Our study explored the association between parent-child relationship harmony and youth smartphone addiction, which appeared to be partially mediated by efficient parental monitoring. Self-control played a moderating role in the indirect pathway of the mediating effect.

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48.14%

Mediation Proportion

Percentage of mediation effect attributed to .

9,270

Sample Size

Total number of youth participants in the survey.

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The mediating effect of parental monitoring in the association between parent–child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction: findings from a nationwide youth survey in China

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