The Relations Between Parental Active Mediation, Parent-Child Relationships and Children’s Problematic Mobile Phone Use: a Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal relationship between parental active mediation, parent-child relationships, and children’s problematic mobile phone use (PMPU). A sample of 258 primary school students in Beijing, China, completed self-report questionnaires at three time points, with a one-semester interval (a six-month gap) between each measurement wave. The cross-lagged model test results revealed that parental active mediation may help reduce children’s PMPU, whereas the corresponding reverse path from PMPU to parental active mediation was nonsignificant. There was a reciprocal negative relationship between parent-child relationships and children’s PMPU. Parental active mediation had a positive effect on parent-child relationships, yet the corresponding reverse path from parent-child relationships to parental active mediation was nonsignificant. Overall, this study described a dynamic picture of children’s PMPU, suggesting both a parent-driven process and a child-driven process in the prediction of children’s PMPU. Our findings provide theoretical and practical implications to prevent or reduce children’s engagement in PMPU.