방임경험이 청소년의 휴대전화 의존에 미치는 영향 : 또래애착과 용도별 휴대전화 사용빈도를 중심으로

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of child neglect from parents on the mobile phone dependency of adolescents focusing on peer attachment and mobile phone usage by purposes as mediating variables. The participants were 2,002 early adolescents drawn from the 7th waves (2016) of KCYPS (Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey). Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping were employed. Results were as follows. First, as teenagers experienced neglect from their parents, peer communication and trust decreased while peer alienation and mobile phone dependency increased significantly. Child neglect significantly reduced the frequency of contact with parents and increased the frequency of playing mobile games. Second, among the three factors of peer attachment, only alienation had a significant direct effect on the mobile phone dependency of adolescents. The higher the peer trust was, the more the teenagers contacted both their family and friends using mobile phones. The higher the alienation, the less contact with friends through mobile phones. Third, in terms of mobile usage by purposes, mobile phone dependency significantly increased contents use, contact with friends, and mobile games, while it significantly lowered as the frequency of contact with family using mobile phone increased. Fourth, positive indirect effects were found in the paths of ‘child neglect from parents→peer alienation→mobile phone dependency’, ‘child neglect from parents→ contact with family using mobile phone→mobile phone dependency’, while negative indirect effects appeared in ‘child neglect from parents→peer trust→contact with friends using mobile phone→mobile phone dependency’. This study confirmed the importance of parent-child relationships in early adolescence in the context of peer attachment of adolescents, and suggested practical interventions by identifying various attributes and pathways on mobile phone dependency.