Mother Phubbing and Adolescent Loneliness: A Mediation Model of Mother–Adolescent Communication and Perceived Mother Acceptance

Abstract

Phubbing is a new form of neglect, and recent studies have examined the effects of parental phubbing on adolescent psychological development. The aim of this study was to explore whether there would be a significant correlation between mother phubbing (Mphubbing) and loneliness and whether mother–adolescent communication (MAC) and perceived mother acceptance (PMA) would sequentially mediate the relation between Mphubbing and adolescent loneliness. Our study included 3,293 senior high school students from China who completed measurements regarding demographic variables, Mphubbing, MAC, PMA, and loneliness. The sequential mediation model of MAC and PMA in the relationship between Mphubbing and loneliness was analyzed to verify all possible paths in this study. Taking the demographic variables as covariables, the results indicated that (1) Mphubbing was positively correlated with loneliness in adolescents and (2) MAC and PMA mediated the relationship between Mphubbing and adolescent loneliness sequentially. Our study highlights the potential mediating mechanisms between Mphubbing and adolescent loneliness, which has important implications for the theoretical and practical of adolescent loneliness in the age of mobiles.