The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions
Abstract Background The positive association of parental phubbing with internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents has gained academic traction. However, current researches on the negative impacts of parental phubbing have focused primarily on adolescents, with a noticeable lack of st...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02363-2 |
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| author | Pan Zhang Xiaoying Wang |
| author_facet | Pan Zhang Xiaoying Wang |
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| description | Abstract Background The positive association of parental phubbing with internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents has gained academic traction. However, current researches on the negative impacts of parental phubbing have focused primarily on adolescents, with a noticeable lack of studies concerning preschool children, and there is also a deficiency in investigations from the perspective of the Risky Family Model. These gaps limit our understanding of how parental phubbing affects problem behaviors among preschool children. To address this gap, the present study constructed a chain mediation model to examine the association between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in preschool children, by introducing two mediating variables—parent–child conflict and negative emotions. Methods A sample of 739 preschool children (mean age 5.04 years, SD = 0.84) and their parents participated in the study. The parents completed measures of the Parental Phubbing Scale, Child–Parent Relationship Scale, Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, and Child Social Preference Scale. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the four scales were 0.75, 0.84, 0.74, and 0.83, respectively. All the measures showed good reliability and validity in the present study. The data were analyzed via SPSS 26.0 and SPSS PROCESS. Results The results indicated that (1) parental phubbing had a significant positive effect on social withdrawal in young children; (2) parent–child conflict and negative emotions independently mediated the relationship between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in young children; and (3) parent–child conflict and negative emotions served as serial mediators in the relationship between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in young children. Conclusions These findings in the present study contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying the association between parental phubbing and social withdrawal and have important implications for interventions aimed at improving social withdrawal among preschool children in China. Furthermore, the present study first introduced parental phubbing into the Risky Family Model, expanding the applicability of this model. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4cfcd3fd4df74b7595b7b4b6ca0354ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4cfcd3fd4df74b7595b7b4b6ca0354ae2025-01-19T12:43:52ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-01-011311910.1186/s40359-025-02363-2The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotionsPan Zhang0Xiaoying Wang1Faculty of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityFaculty of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityAbstract Background The positive association of parental phubbing with internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents has gained academic traction. However, current researches on the negative impacts of parental phubbing have focused primarily on adolescents, with a noticeable lack of studies concerning preschool children, and there is also a deficiency in investigations from the perspective of the Risky Family Model. These gaps limit our understanding of how parental phubbing affects problem behaviors among preschool children. To address this gap, the present study constructed a chain mediation model to examine the association between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in preschool children, by introducing two mediating variables—parent–child conflict and negative emotions. Methods A sample of 739 preschool children (mean age 5.04 years, SD = 0.84) and their parents participated in the study. The parents completed measures of the Parental Phubbing Scale, Child–Parent Relationship Scale, Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, and Child Social Preference Scale. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the four scales were 0.75, 0.84, 0.74, and 0.83, respectively. All the measures showed good reliability and validity in the present study. The data were analyzed via SPSS 26.0 and SPSS PROCESS. Results The results indicated that (1) parental phubbing had a significant positive effect on social withdrawal in young children; (2) parent–child conflict and negative emotions independently mediated the relationship between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in young children; and (3) parent–child conflict and negative emotions served as serial mediators in the relationship between parental phubbing and social withdrawal in young children. Conclusions These findings in the present study contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying the association between parental phubbing and social withdrawal and have important implications for interventions aimed at improving social withdrawal among preschool children in China. Furthermore, the present study first introduced parental phubbing into the Risky Family Model, expanding the applicability of this model.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02363-2Parental phubbingParent–child conflictNegative emotionsSocial withdrawalPreschool children |
| spellingShingle | Pan Zhang Xiaoying Wang The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions BMC Psychology Parental phubbing Parent–child conflict Negative emotions Social withdrawal Preschool children |
| title | The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions |
| title_full | The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions |
| title_fullStr | The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions |
| title_short | The impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children: the serial mediating roles of parent–child conflict and negative emotions |
| title_sort | impact of parental phubbing on social withdrawal in preschool children the serial mediating roles of parent child conflict and negative emotions |
| topic | Parental phubbing Parent–child conflict Negative emotions Social withdrawal Preschool children |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02363-2 |
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