Parents ’ Phubbing and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: the Mediation of Anxiety and the Moderation of Zhong-Yong Thinking

AbstractExtant research has indicated that parents ’ phubbing negatively affects adolescent development. However, no research to date has examined the association between parents’ phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration. Based on the model of hot/cool system, the present study constructed a moderated mediating model to test the associ ations among parents’ phubbing, anxiety, Zhong-yong thinking, and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents (n = 874,Mage = 14.07,SDage = 1.64) were recruited from one middle school and one high school in a city in central China. A total of 450 (51.5%) boys and 424 (48.5%) girls participated in the survey. The results indicated that parents’ phubbing was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, and anxiety media ted this association. Zhong-yong thinking moderated the association between anxiety and cyberbullying perpetration, indicating that the effect was stronger for adolescents with lower level of Zhong-yong thinking than their counterparts. The present study advances our understanding of how parents ’ phubbing is related to cyberbullying perpetration. Education professionals and parents should pay attention to parents’ phubbing in adolescents, particularly for those with low level of Zhong-yong thinking.
Source: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Category: Addiction Source Type: research