The Impact of Elementary School Students' Emotional Problems on Smartphone Game Addiction: The Multi-Mediation Effects of Parent-Child Communication and Ego-Resilience

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of emotional problems(EB), such as depression and anxiety, on smartphone game addiction(SGA) of elementary school students, and to indentify how parent-child communication(PCC) and ego-resilience(ER) act as multiple mediating factors. A survey was conducted with 572 students at grades 4 to 6 at two elementary schools in a metropolitan area. The survey was constructed to assess the levels of EB, SGA, PCC and ER. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, and the multi-mediated effect was confirmed via bootstrap analysis. The primary findings are as follows. Firstly, ER of elementary school students was found to escalate their SGA either directly or indirectly. Secondly, both PCC and ER were found to mediate the relationship between EB and SG through a multi-mediation analysis. In the analysis, three significant pathways were identified: 'EB → PCC → SGA', 'EB → ER → SGA', and 'EB → PCC → ER → SGA'. Therefore, it is essential to totally consider emotional problems, familial communication, and ego-concept of elementary school students to prevent or intervene in their smartphone game addiction.