Gender differences in the relationships between parental phubbing and adolescents' depressive symptoms: The mediating role of parent-adolescent communication

Pengcheng Wang; Ningning Mao; Chang Liu; Jingyu Geng; Xinyi Wei; Wei Wang; Pan Zeng; Biao Li

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.073

Gender differences in the relationships between parental phubbing and adolescents' depressive symptoms: The mediating role of parent-adolescent communication

J Affect Disord. 2022 Apr 1:302:194-203. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.073. Epub 2021 Dec 22.

Authors

Pengcheng Wang¹, Ningning Mao², Chang Liu³, Jingyu Geng⁴, Xinyi Wei⁴, Wei Wang⁵, Pan Zeng⁴, Biao Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road 800, Shanghai, 200240, China.
² School of Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100037, China.
³ BrainPark, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 770 Blackburn Road, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Datong University, No. 405 Xingyun Street, Pingcheng District, Datong 037009, China.
⁶ School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China. Electronic address: libiao@ruc.edu.cn.

PMID: 34952115
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.073

Abstract

Phubbing, as a common phenomenon in modern society's communication, describes the act of using one's phone in face-to-face interactions. In recent years, parental phubbing has attracted the attention of researchers, and it is imperative to explore the relationship between father phubbing (Fphubbing), mother phubbing (Mphubbing) and adolescent development. Therefore, this study investigated 4213 adolescents (mean age = 16.41, SD = 0.77, 52.5% were boys) and explored the relationship between Fphubbing and Mphubbing and adolescents' depressive symptoms. Our single-group path analysis showed that both Fphubbing and Mphubbing were positively associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms. These positive associations were mediated by father-adolescent communication and mother-adolescent communication. Furthermore, multiple-group path analysis revealed that, compared to male adolescents, the relationship between Fphubbing and father-adolescent communication, and the relationship between Mphubbing and mother-adolescent communication were stronger in female adolescents. These findings offer a more ecological and comprehensive understanding of how parental phubbing associates with parent-adolescent communication and adolescents' depressive symptoms.

Keywords: Adolescents’ depressive symptoms; Father phubbing; Gender differences; Mother phubbing; Parent-adolescent communication.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior*
Communication
Depression*
Female
Humans
Male
Mothers
Parent-Child Relations
Parents
Sex Factors