The Effect of Parental Phubbing on Teenager’s Mobile Phone Dependency Behaviors: The Mediation Role of Subjective Norm and Dependency Intention

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to examine (a) the effects of parental phubbing on teenagers’ mobile phone dependency and (b) the mediating roles of subjective norm and dependent intention of underlying this relationship. METHODS: We recruited 605 middle school students in Beijing, China and they completed the parental phubbing behaviors, subjective norm, dependency intention, and mobile phone dependency behavior questionnaires. RESULTS: The results of the structure equation modeling revealed that parental phubbing behaviors significantly increased teenager’s mobile phone dependency behaviors in two indirect ways. First, parental phubbing reinforced teenagers’ mobile phone dependency intention, which in turn increased the likelihood of mobile phone dependency. Second, parental phubbing enhanced the tendency of parental mobile phone dependence norm perceived by teenagers, and thus reinforced their mobile phone dependency intention, ultimately increasing mobile phone dependency. CONCLUSION: We concluded that parental phubbing is a significant indicator of teenager mobile phone dependency and that mobile phone dependency intention plays a mediation role between them. In addition, the perceived parental mobile phone dependency norm played a mediation role between parental phubbing and mobile phone dependency intention and indirectly influenced the level of mobile phone dependency behaviors through the mediation effect of mobile phone dependency intention.