Relationships Between Family-School Cumulative Risk And Adolescent Problematic Mobile Phone Use:Pressure As A Mediator And Educational Level As A Moderator

With the development of information network technology and mobile communication technology,smartphones have become one of the most pervasive and influential technological innovations.However,mobile phone usage brings negative impacts in addition to the convenience it offers users.Previous studies have found that problematic mobile phone use(PMPU)has an adverse effect on physical health,cognitive function,and social competence.Adolescence is a critical developmental stage in the lifespan,and adolescents remain the largest population of smartphone users.The Ecological Techno-subsystem Theory believes that the family and school,as an adolescent development micro-system,have a significant impact on adolescents’ PMPU.However,recent research mostly examined the influencing factors of PMPU in adolescents from a single factor or dimension and ignored the cumulative risk of each factor,so there remains a limited understanding of the concerned law of development.Moreover,the majority of relative studies only examined adolescent PMPU during a certain educational stage,which makes it seem impossible to demonstrate the overall situation or master its psychological development rules,much less to address and compare the risk factors of adolescent PMPU in different educational stages as a whole.From this,the present research conducted five studies with a total of 4302 adolescents(988 junior high school students,1403 high school students,and 1911 university students)to examine family,school,and the cumulative risk factors’ mechanisms on PMPU,as well as the differences in the mechanisms in different educational stages.(1)Study 1 combined both the questionnaire survey method and the empirical sampling method to reveal the general characteristics and development law of PMPU from the perspective of static-dynamic combination.1226 adolescents’(262 junior high school students,426 senior high school students,and 538 university students)levels of problematic smartphone use was measured by Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale for university Students.A self-developed questionnaire was used to examine 239 university students,and the data was collected through dynamic tracking.The results of the study showed that there was no gender difference in adolescent PMPU.However,the differences in educational stages are evident.The severity of PMPU reported by undergraduates was the highest,followed by those of senior high school students,and junior high school students reported the lowest scores.The results of dynamic daily tracking showed that the frequency of PMPU of the adolescents was stable.(2)Study 2 explored the risk factors of PMPU among adolescents from a family perspective.The study adopted the psychological network analysis method to examine the relationship among risk,stress,and PMPU.612 adolescents(131 junior high school students,213 senior high school students,and 268 university students)were investigated through questionnaires that examined their PMPU,parental conflict,negative parenting styles,and stress.The questionnaire method effectively examined the impacts of family risk on adolescents’ PMPU,as well as the mediating role of stress and the moderating role of educational phase.The results showed that parental conflicts could increase PMPU in two ways: 1)perceived parental conflicts can directly exacerbate PMPU in university students,and 2)stress had a mediator effect between parental conflicts and PMPU among all studied educational stages.And negative parenting influences adolescent PMPU primarily by increasing their stress.(3)Study 3 explored the risk factors of PMPU among adolescents from a school perspective.612 subjects(131 junior high school students,213 senior high school students,and 268 university students)participated in this study.It adopted the psychological network analysis method to examine the relationship among risk,stress,and PMPU.A variable-centered analysis orientation was also used to investigate adolescents’ PMPU,poor dormitory relationships,classmate relationships,interpersonal distress,and stress through a questionnaire method.Therefore,the study can 1)the relationship between school risks and PMPU,2)the mediating role of stress in the relationship between school risks and PMPU,and 3)the moderating role of educational stage in the mediation model.Analyses confirmed that stress in peer relationships increased PMPU in two ways: 1)peer relationships directly affected adolescent PMPU,and 2)stress acted as a mediator between peer relationships and PMPU in junior high school students and senior high school students.Also,stress partially mediated the relationship between troubled interpersonal relationships and PMPU in senior high school students and undergraduates.(4)Study 4 explored the relationship between family-school cumulative risk and PMPU among adolescents through variable-centered and person-centered analyses.1583adolescents(464 junior high school students,551 senior high school students,and 568 university students)were recruited to patriciate in the study.The questionnaire method was used to conduct the risk indicators,including adolescents’ tendency of PMPU,poor peer relationships,stress,parental conflict,and parenting styles,in order to classify adolescents’,home-school cumulative risk types.By comparing the mediating effect of stress among various heterogeneous subgroups in different educational stages,this study further revealed the characteristics and the mechanism of PMPU in adolescents under multiple risks.Based on latent profile analysis,the cumulative risks were divided into the following profiles: family-school low risk,family-school medium risk,family medium-school high risk,and family high-school-high risk.The results confirmed that stress had an evident mediating effect on cumulative risk and PMPU in adolescents.Adolescents living in a high family-school risk environment would experience more stress than those living in a family-school medium risk environment,thus increasing the possibility of PMPU.3)Compared with senior high school students and undergraduates,adolescents in junior high school tended to feel more pressure after experiencing the high cumulative risk,which led to a higher level of PMPU.(5)Study 5 adopted a qualitative research method to further explore the contextual factors(family and school)affecting adolescent PMPU.30 university students were selected for interviews.The study tested the results of the questionnaire survey,supplemented the details that were not covered in the quantitative research,and provided reasonable suggestions for the proposal of the interfering scheme at the same time.The following conclusions were obtained through the interviews: 1)family and school factors such as parental conflict,overprotective parents,and poor relationships with classmates were consistent with the influencing factors of PMPU in the questionnaire survey,2)negative parenting styles(parental separation,neglect,and absence)and certain parental individual traits(parental personality,low education level,and weak educational ability)were also considered significant family risk factors for PMPU.3)learning difficulties(major disagreement,major difficulty,and academic pressure),monotonous extracurricular activity patterns,etc.,were important school risk factors affecting PMPU,4)Individual negative factors,including introversion,social anxiety,frustration in communication,lack of goals,lack of interests and hobbies,venting of emotions,etc.,could also affect PMPU.To sum up,the results of the present study showed that the PMPU among adolescents became more and more serious with the increase of the educational stage(from junior high school to university),but there was no difference between males and females.Family and school risks were potential environmental factors for adolescent PMPU.At first,the effects of family risks were relatively stronger among middle school students,but the two factors then became equivalent significant to the adolescents in the next two educational stages.In addition,stress played a mediator role in the relationship between risk factors and PMPU.For instance,family risk factors and school risk factors can impact PMPU by elevating students’ stress.Finally,compared with students living in family-school low and medium risk environment,adolescents living in family-school medium and high-risk environments showed more serious PMPU,and it was stress that mediated the relationship between cumulative risk types and PMPU among adolescents.