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The Effect of Mother Phubbing on Young Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Moderated Mediation Model of Mother–Child Attachment and Parenting Stress

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  • Huan Lv

    (Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China
    FoShan University, FoShan 528225, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Wenyu Ye

    (School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    School of Educational Sciences, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang 524048, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Suiqing Chen

    (School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Hongfeng Zhang

    (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao 999078, China)

  • Ruiming Wang

    (Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China
    Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China)

Abstract

Phubbing—the act of ignoring someone physically present in favor of a mobile phone—is increasingly prevalent in families, and mothers’ phubbing behaviors may have a particularly important effect on young children’s development. Accordingly, this study explores the mediating role of mother–child attachment in the relationship between mother phubbing and children’s emotional and behavioral problems, as well as the role of maternal parenting stress in moderating the mediation effect. A total of 988 mothers of young children (mean age = 4.93, SD = 0.94) were surveyed using four scales, and the resulting data was statistically analyzed. The study found that (1) mother phubbing was significantly and positively correlated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems ( r = 0.19, p < 0.01), (2) mother–child attachment mediated the relationship between mother phubbing and children’s emotional and behavioral problems, and (3) the relationship between mother–child attachment and children’s emotional and behavioral problems was moderated by maternal parenting stress. The present study offers fresh evidence of how mother phubbing affects young children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. The need to reduce maternal parental stress and buffer mothers from its effects are highlighted as vital factors in promoting secure mother–child attachment and alleviating young children’s problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Huan Lv & Wenyu Ye & Suiqing Chen & Hongfeng Zhang & Ruiming Wang, 2022. "The Effect of Mother Phubbing on Young Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Moderated Mediation Model of Mother–Child Attachment and Parenting Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16911-:d:1005369
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Meredith E. David & James A. Roberts, 2017. "Phubbed and Alone: Phone Snubbing, Social Exclusion, and Attachment to Social Media," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 155-163.
    2. Qutaiba Agbaria & Fayez Mahamid & Guido Veronese, 2021. "The Association Between Attachment Patterns and Parenting Styles With Emotion Regulation Among Palestinian Preschoolers," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440219, February.
    3. Xie, Xiaochun & Chen, Wu & Zhu, Xiaowei & He, Dan, 2019. "Parents' phubbing increases Adolescents' Mobile phone addiction: Roles of parent-child attachment, deviant peers, and gender," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-1.
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