The Effects of Mothers' and Fathers' Smartphone Overdependence on Adolescent Children's Smartphone Overdependence: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress and Cross-Partner Effects

Abstract

This study examines the mediating role of parenting stress and cross-partner effects in the relationship between parents' smartphone overdependence and adolescent children's smartphone overdependence. Data from the 16th wave(2023) of the Panel Study on Korean Children(PSKC) were analyzed using structural equation modeling(SEM) with a sample of 1,066 families in which mothers, fathers, and adolescent children(aged 15) all provided responses. All analyses were conducted using R 4.3.2(lavaan package), and the significance of indirect effects was tested via bootstrapping(5,000 iterations). The main findings are as follows. First, the direct paths from parental smartphone overdependence to adolescent smartphone overdependence were not statistically significant, whereas significant indirect associations through parenting stress were identified. Second, only maternal parenting stress had a significant effect on adolescents' smartphone overdependence (=.240, p<.001), whereas the effect of paternal parenting stress was not statistically significant. Third, a cross-partner effect was identified, whereby fathers' smartphone overdependence elevated mothers' parenting stress, which in turn influenced adolescents' smartphone overdependence (indirect effect=.031, 95% CI[.013, .053]). These findings suggest the need for an integrated approach to preventing smartphone overdependence among adolescents by managing parental parenting stress and considering the reciprocal influences between parents.