Meaning in Life and Self-Control Mediate the Potential Contribution of Harsh Parenting to Adolescents’ Problematic Smartphone Use: Longitudinal Multi-Group Analyses

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become an increasingly serious social issue that gradually impairs adolescents’ daily social functioning. This study aimed to examine the potential contribution of harsh parenting (HP) to PSU by testing a two-mediator model in which meaning in life (MIL) and self-control (SC) were hypothesized to be two mediators. The moderating role of gender was also examined. Eight hundred and twenty-eight middle school students from rural areas in China (mean age = 13.04) reported on harsh parenting, MIL, self-control, and PSU. Both parents also reported on each other’s harsh parenting and their child’s self-control. Multi-group structural equation modeling analyses revealed gender differences in the association patterns among the model variables. Harsh parenting was only indirectly associated with PSU for both boys and girls. MIL and self-control completely mediated the relation between harsh parenting and PSU in sequential manners for boys and girls. And for boys, beyond the common path from harsh parenting to PSU, another indirect path existed from harsh parenting to self-control to PSU. But jointly, MIL and self-control precipitate more indirect effects for girls than for boys in the association between harsh parenting and PSU. Findings suggested that harsh parenting was detrimental to adolescents’ MIL and self-control, which enhances their risk for PSU, especially for girls. These findings provide more insights for efforts to prevent adolescents from PSU.