The Association Between Self-Esteem and Smartphone Dependency Among Children: A Moderated Mediation Model of Social Withdrawal and Parental Provision of Structure

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the extent to which children’s self-esteem influenced their smartphone dependency through social withdrawal and whether this mediating path would vary depending on parents’ provision of structure.Methods: This study included data on 2,394 fourth-grade elementary school children(boys, <i>n</i> = 1191; <i>M</i> = 10 years old, <i>SD</i> = .09), taken from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute. Descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0. In addition, the Process Macro No. 8 model was used to examine the moderated mediating effects of social withdrawal and parental provision of structure.Results: It was found that children’s self-esteem significantly and directly influenced their smartphone dependency, and indirectly influenced smartphone dependency through social withdrawal. Parents' provision of structure significantly moderated the association between children's self-esteem and social withdrawal, and the association between children’s self-esteem and smartphone dependency. Parents’ provision of structure also moderated the mediating effect of social withdrawal in the path between children’s self-esteem and smartphone dependency. This suggests that a high level of parental structure strengthens the beneficial effects of children’s self-esteem on smartphone dependency through reduced social withdrawal.Conclusion: This study examined how children’s individual characteristics and parenting behavior interact to influence children’s smartphone dependency. The findings highlight the importance of developing and implementing parent programs to support positive parenting practices and promote children’s healthy adjustment.