Mother Phubbing and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: the Roles of Perceived Acceptance from Mother, Perceived Burdensomeness, and Gender

AbstractMother phubbing, which refers to the act of a mother who uses or is distracted by her smartphone while in the company of her children, has drawn great attention from researchers. Previous research addresses its effects on relationship quality and people ’s mental health; however, little research has examined the effect of mother phubbing on adolescent suicidal ideation. This research established a moderated mediation model, aiming to examine the relationship between mother phubbing and adolescent suicidal ideation and further explore the underlyi ng mechanisms in this association. A total of 4144 students from five provinces in China finished the questionnaire. The results indicated that mother phubbing was positively related to adolescent suicidal ideation, and perceived acceptance from the mother and perceived burdensomeness sequentially m ediated such an association. Moreover, gender played a moderating role in the relationship between mother phubbing and perceived acceptance and the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation. Specially, the relationship between perceived acceptance from the mother and suicid al ideation was stronger for boys, while the relationship between perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation was stronger for girls. The implications and limitations of the findings were discussed.
Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Category: Addiction Source Type: research