Meaning in Life and Self-Control Mediate the Potential Contribution of Harsh Parenting to Adolescents’ Problematic Smartphone Use: Longitudinal Multi-Group Analyses

Abstract

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become an increasingly serious social issue that gradually impairs adolescents’ daily social functioning. This study aimed to examine the potential contribution of harsh parenting (HP) to PSU by testing a two-mediator model in which meaning in life (MIL) and self-control (SC) were hypothesized to be two mediators. The moderating role of gender was also examined. Eight hundred and twenty-eight middle school students from rural areas in China (mean age = 13.04) reported on harsh parenting, MIL, self-control, and PSU. Both parents also reported on each other’s harsh parenting and their child’s self-control. Multi-group structural equation modeling analyses revealed gender differences in the association patterns among the model variables. Harsh parenting was only indirectly associated with PSU for both boys and girls. MIL and self-control completely mediated the relation between harsh parenting and PSU in sequential manners for boys and girls. And for boys, beyond the common path from harsh parenting to PSU, another indirect path existed from harsh parenting to self-control to PSU. But jointly, MIL and self-control precipitate more indirect effects for girls than for boys in the association between harsh parenting and PSU. Findings suggested that harsh parenting was detrimental to adolescents’ MIL and self-control, which enhances their risk for PSU, especially for girls. These findings provide more insights for efforts to prevent adolescents from PSU.

Keywords

harsh parenting meaning in life self-control problematic smartphone use adolescents

Introduction

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become an increasingly serious social issue that impairs people’s daily social functioning (Xie et al., 2018), especially for adolescents who lack adequate self-control over media using behaviors (Mei et al., 2016). PSU involves difficulty in controlling smartphone use (Ezoe et al., 2009) and various addiction-like symptoms such as overuse and withdrawal (Kwon et al., 2013). PSU could result in various mental health problems such as depression and sleeping disturbances and even poor physical health (Thomée et al., 2011; Xie et al., 2018). As shown in the 47^th China statistical report on Internet development, the number of Internet users has reached 989 million, with 16.6% below the age of 19 years and 99.7% Internet users surfing the Internet via smartphones (China Internet Network Information Center, 2021). Under such circumstances, it appears as a more urgent research theme to better understand risk factors for PSU so as to cope with it more efficiently. According to the self-system model of motivational development (SSMMD) (Skinner & Wellborn, 1997), individuals’ social context (e.g., parents, teachers, and peers) shapes the development of their self-system (e.g., personal belief and cognition). As relatively stable factors, these self-system factors can further affect their actions. Based on this model, the current study aimed to examine whether harsh parenting (HP) as an adverse social setting was likely to impair adolescents’ meaning in life (MIL) and self-control (SC) as two important self-system factors, then bringing about their negative actions such as excessive smartphone use.

Harsh Parenting and Adolescent Problematic Smartphone Use

HP involves a wide range of physical and verbal aggression toward children enacted by parents who feel dissatisfied with children’s performance, especially when children do wrong or make their parents angry (Wang, 2017, 2019). Problem-behavior theory (Jessor, 1987) has suggested that individuals’ perceived environmental systems are determinants of their behaviors. In light of this theory, parental harsh discipline may elicit adolescents’ problem behaviors such as problematic Internet use. Caregiver abuse has the capacity to shape a sense of insecurity through molding dysfunctional working models of the self and others (Crittenden & Ainsworth, 1989), which lead children to see the world as unsafe and thereby enhance their likelihood of seeking comfort and security in the cyberspace. It has been found that HP is likely to make adolescents feel anxious in interpersonal settings outside of the family (Wang et al., 2021). To feel less stressful in face-to-face settings, some adolescents have become overly dependent on smartphones to communicate with others (Ihm, 2018). Therefore, HP may lead adolescents to excessively use their smartphones to surf the Internet as a way to cope with their negative affect. Thus, HP might be a familial risk factor for PSU among adolescents.

Meaning in Life as One Mediator

MIL is generally conceptualized as the degree to which people perceive their lives as purposeful, as coherent or as significant (Steger, 2012). A purposeful life means that the life have directions and goals to aim for (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009), which may provide individuals with greater sense of competence and efficacy (Costin & Vignoles, 2020). Adolescents perceiving their lives as purposeful are better at coping with various stressors in life (Chiu, 2014), and are less likely to be addicted to mobile phone use (Kuang-Tsan & Fu-Yuan, 2017). A coherent life is characterized by sense of control, and is structured in an orderly way (Costin & Vignoles, 2020). The unfulfilled sense of control in the offline world may promote adolescents to seek sense of control in cyberspace (Sun et al., 2020), thus increasing their use of the Internet and further multiplying the risk for PSU. A significant life is characterized by positive perceptions of, and positive affects, toward oneself (namely, high self-esteem) (Baumeister, 1990; Rosenberg, 1965) which has been found to prevent adolescents from PSU (Kim & Jahng, 2019). More generally, adolescents with a greater sense of MIL are better at coping with negative situations in life (García-Alandete et al., 2019) and tend to invest more time and effort in achieving goals they cherish (Ryff & Singer, 1998), thus less likely to engage in PSU (Kuang-Tsan & Fu-Yuan, 2017). Therefore, MIL might be a protective factor against PSU for adolescents.

The basic premise of attachment theory (Bowlby, 1982) holds that attachment security, which is formed in close child–caregiver relationships, tends to predispose children to perceive their life as rewarding and coherent, thus providing a foundation for a deeply felt sense of MIL. Mikulincer and Shaver (2013) have suggested that attachment security fosters constructive beliefs and feelings that can enhance MIL by promoting perceptions of a life full of purpose and direction and the formation of a coherent and stable identity. Flowing from these perspectives, HP is expected to harm the development of MIL in adolescents because HP has been shown to elicit attachment insecurity in parent–child relations (Wang et al., 2021). Furthermore, HP may also destroy children’s MIL by impairing their cognitive flexibility. King et al. (2006) have demonstrated that positive but not negative affect can promote individuals to more constructively connect their lives to a greater meaning framework in life. This implies that negative emotional states as a result of HP may undermine adolescents’ MIL by decreasing their cognitive flexibility. Based on the above literature, it can be inferred that HP is likely to weaken adolescents’ MIL, one topic that has yet to be examined.

Self-Control as the Other Mediator

SC, indexing individuals’ ability to regulate their emotions, behavioral tendencies, and inner responses, affects various behavioral responses (De Ridder et al., 2012). Given that PSU is generally regarded as being caused by lack of control (Chang et al., 2019), SC may be a central factor against PSU. Adequate SC may inhibit one’s tendency to behave in unrestrained ways (Troll et al., 2021), while SC deficits generally result in more problem behaviors (Walters, 2000). Smartphones, like the “marshmallow” (a material used in a psychological study on delayed gratification carried out at Stanford University in 1972), tempts adolescents with immediate rewards, consistently challenging their SC resources (Troll et al., 2021). According to SC theories (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), adolescents high in SC generally invest more effort and persistence in long-term goals (De Ridder et al., 2018), which may lower the risk of their PSU. By contrast, lack of SC disenables adolescents to resist the temptation of immediate gratification, making them guided by short-term goals and more prone to PSU. Additionally, adolescents who lack SC often fail in effective self-regulation, feeling less competent at inhibiting their craving for mobile phone use (Troll et al., 2021).

Given that children gradually acquire the capacity for SC through interactions with their parents (Morris et al., 2017), negative parenting practices would hamper the development of SC. In line with social learning theory (Bandura & Walters, 1977), hostile parenting behaviors may set a poor example of SC for children, leading children to observe and mimic their parents’ disregulated behaviors and gradually behave in an impulsive way (Unnever et al., 2006). Moreover, SC processes consume attentional resources that are limited (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). When children focus their attention on parents’ harsh performances and their own emotional distress, they lack enough resources for SC processes. As a result of parents’ coercive parenting practices, children become insensitive to the demands and opportunities in the constantly changing situations, and grow more dependent on external control rather than internal SC (Colman et al., 2006). Therefore, it can be reasonably assumed that HP may hamper adolescents’ development of SC, gradually increasing their risk for PSU.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive relation between MIL and SC (Brassai et al., 2013; Damon et al., 2003; Hamama & Hamama-Raz, 2021). Lacking a sense of MIL may predispose adolescents to be impulsive and to pursue short-term goals, while a stronger sense of MIL may orient adolescents toward long-term goals and social norms (MacKenzie & Baumeister, 2014). With ingrained MIL, people can transcend instantaneous impulses, and thus more effectively regulate themselves. In other words, MIL may promote the acquisition and maintenance of SC abilities (Li et al., 2019). Moreover, MIL can provide adolescents with an organizational framework for their daily life, linking current activities with their desired long-term goals (Koshy & Mariano, 2011), thus providing specific aims for effective SC. Based on the relation of MIL to SC, a third path may exist through which HP would increase the risk of adolescent PSU via lower levels of MIL and SC.

The Role of Child Gender

Self-construal theoretical perspectives hold that males seek to maintain an independent self-construal whereas females crave for an interdependent self-construal by which they include others into the self (Cross & Madson, 1997). Due to this differential interpersonal orientation, females are more vulnerable to interpersonal stress with its negative outcomes, especially during the adolescent years (Rudolph, 2002). Compared to boys, girls experience greater stress in parent–child relations (Pomerantz & Ruble, 1998) because they are more likely to ruminate over their negative thoughts and feelings resulting from family stressors (Greene & Larson, 1991) and therefore suffer from more distressful emotions (Leadbeater et al., 1999). As mentioned before, these negative perceptions and emotions may undermine adolescents’ MIL as well as their SC. Therefore, HP may differentially undermine boys’ versus girls’ MIL and SC.

Kremen and Block (1998) have suggested that because of gender differences in parenting boys versus girls, boys tend to lack SC that causes more behavioral problems, whereas girls generally grow up with overcontrol that results in more emotional problems. Research on gender differences in Internet using behaviors indicates that girls more prone to online communication due to their greater social orientation, whereas boys are more likely to engage in online entertainment (Liu et al., 2020). As a result of the greater distress from HP and the impaired MIL and SC, girls may be more prone to online activities via mobile phones, which enhances their risk for PSU.

Purpose of the Present Study

To sum up, this study has two aims. First, we intend to examine the potential mediating roles of MIL and SC in the association between HP and PSU. Based on the above literature review, we expected that HP could be associated with adolescents’ PSU through the following three indirect paths: (a) the first path with MIL as one mediator, (b) the second path with SC as another mediator, and (c) the third path with both MIL and SC as two serial linkages. The above hypotheses will be tested using a multiple mediator model (Figure 1), which will be used to guide our theoretical and statistical analyses. Second, we intend to explore gender differences in the variable relations, namely, how HP can be differentially undermine boys’ versus girls’ PSU via differentially affecting their MIL and SC. As for this aim, we hypothesize that HP might be more detrimental to girls’ than to boys’ MIL and SC, and thus exerting a more serious impact on girls’ PSU.

Figure 1.

The sequential mediation model on the mediating roles of meaning in life and self-control in the association between harsh parenting and adolescent problematic smartphone use.

Method

Participants

We first received permission from the Ethical Committee for Scientific Research in our institution to conduct this study, and then obtained students’, their teachers’ and parents’ consent to participate in this survey. Nine hundred and seven students in the seventh through eighth grade were recruited as participants from two public junior high schools located in rural areas of Eastern China. Students, their parents and teachers were informed of this study’s aim and procedures. To establish the casual relationships among these variables, in September 2020 (T1), 899 students and their parents completed questionnaires on HP. In January 2021 (T2), 842 students of the initial 899 students completed the subscale of Presence of Meaning and the SC scale; parents also reported on questionnaires regarding their children’s SC. In May 2021 (T3), 828 students (381 girls and 447 boys; M_age = 13.04 years, range = 11–15) remained and completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale. Overall, the dropout rate was 7.90%. There were no significant differences across three measurement points between the dropped-out families and those families included in this study (ps > 0.05). There were 812 families in which both parents filled in parental questionnaires and 16 families in which only one parent returned questionnaires. Full information maximum likelihood estimation was used to handle the missing data (Wang et al., 2018). All parents in this study who completed the questionnaire were married heterosexuals. A total of 614 adolescents’ fathers and 702 adolescents’ mothers had achieved a junior high school degree or above. And the monthly salary of 312 adolescents’ fathers and 164 adolescents’ mothers was no less than 5000 Yuan. Additionally, although students nested in classes may violate the independent-observations premise (Preacher et al., 2011), this was not a concern in this study because the intra-class correlation (ICC) was lower than 0.01.

Measures

Harsh parenting was assessed with a 4-item questionnaire from prior research that has been wildly used to measure harsh parenting among Chinese adolescents (Wang, 2017, 2019). To minimize self-report biases, the spouse-report paradigm was used as prior researchers did (Wang et al., 2018). Children also rated the same four items to assess their father’s and mother’s harsh parenting behaviors. One sample parent-report item is: When our child did something wrong or made my spouse angry, he (or she) would “lose temper or even yell at them.” When reported by children, the expression of these items were somewhat modified (e.g., “when I did something wrong or made my parents angry, he (or she) would lose temper or even yell at me”). Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = almost never did that, 5 = almost always did that). We computed four composite scores for mother-reported harsh fathering (HFMR, α = 0.81), father reported harsh mothering (HMFR, α = 0.84), child-reported harsh fathering (HFCR, α = 0.79), and harsh mothering (HMCR, α = 0.77). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that one-factor model fit the data well for HFMR, HMFR, HFCR and HMCR, respectively: χ²/df = 6.53, 4.34, 3.61, and 5.22, ps < 0.01; comparatively fit index (CFI) = 0.96, 0.95, 0.97, and 0.98; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.071, 0.069, 0.089, and 0.074. These four composite scores were used as indicators of HP as a latent variable.

Meaning in life was assessed using the 5-item subscale of Presence of Meaning from Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) (Steger et al., 2006; e.g., “My life has a clear sense of purpose”). This subscale has shown good reliability and validity in measuring MIL among Chinese adolescents (Geng et al., 2021). Students rated each item on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 = absolutely untrue to 7 = absolutely true. The five items were used as indicators of MIL as a latent variable. Confirmatory factor analytical results indicated that one factor-model fit the data satisfactorily: χ²/df = 4.79, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.068. In this study, Cronbach’s α for the subscale was 0.82.

Self-Control was assessed using the 13-item Self-Control Scale-Short version (Tangney et al., 2004). Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not at all true for me and 5 = completely true for me). To minimize self-report bias in assessing SC, we obtained father-reported child SC (SCFR, α = 0.88), mother-reported child SC (SCMR, α = 0.84), and child self-reported SC (SCSR, α = 0.79). A self-reported sample item is: “I am lazy.” When reported by parents, the expression of these items would be slightly modified (e.g., “This child is lazy”). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that one-factor model fit the data well for SCFR, SCMR, and SCSR, respectively: χ²/df = 5.34, 3.11, and 3.57, ps < 0.01; CFI = 0.94, 0.97, and 0.95; and RMSEA = 0.071, 0.063, and 0.077. These three composite scores were used as indicators of child SC as a latent variable.

Problematic Smartphone Use was assessed with the 33-item Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) (Kwon et al., 2013) that consists of six dimensions. Adolescents reported each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not at all true for me and 5 = completely true for me). The Daily Life Disturbance subscale comprises 5 items (e.g., “Missing planned works due to smartphone usage,” α = 0.78), the Positive Anticipation subscale 8 items (e.g., “Feeling calm or cozy while using a smartphone,” α = 0.89), the Withdrawal subscale 6 items (e.g., “Won’t be able to stand not having a smartphone,” α = 0.92), the Tolerance subscale 3 items (e.g., “Always thinking that I should shorten my smartphone use time,” α = 0.79), the Overuse subscale 4 items (e.g., “Using my smartphone longer than I had intended,” α = 0.81), and the Cyberspace Oriented Relationships subscale 7 items (e.g., “Feeling great meeting more people via smartphone use,” α = 0.83). These six dimensions were used as indicators of PSU as a latent variable. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a six-factor model fit the data satisfactorily for PSU: χ²/df = 4.57, p < 0.01, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.065.

Results

Descriptive and Correlational Analyses

As shown in Table 1, boys reported greater levels of PSU (T3) than did girls. No significant gender differences existed for other variables. Additionally, the mean levels of both parent and child reports of HP fell below the median point of three, indicating that Chinese adolescents in this sample had suffered relatively low levels of HP. However, correlation analyses indicated that even low levels of HP (T1) could be longitudinally linked with adolescents’ MIL (T2), SC (T2), and PSU (T3). On the one hand, relations among the same variables reported by different informants provided further support for the psychometric soundness of the measurements. On the other hand, relations among different variables provided prerequisites for testing the hypothesized model.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations and Correlations for the Variables (N = 828).

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
1. HFMR (T1)	—
2. HMFR (T1)	0.63^***	—
3. HFCR (T1)	0.81^***	0.51^***	—
4. HMCR (T1)	0.59^***	0.78^***	0.70^***	—
5. HPT (T1)	0.87^***	0.85^***	0.87^***	0.88^***	—
6. MIL (T2)	−0.24^***	−0.28^***	−0.21^***	−0.31^***	−0.30^***	—
7. SCMR (T2)	−0.20^***	−0.24^***	−0.25^***	−0.30^***	−0.28^***	0.39^***	—
8. SCFR (T2)	−0.22^***	−0.20^***	−0.23^***	−0.18^***	−0.24^***	0.26^***	0.52^***	—
9. SCSR (T2)	−0.16^***	−0.22^***	−0.20^***	−0.26^***	−0.25^***	0.42^***	0.68^***	0.47^***	—
10. SCT (T2)	−0.23^***	−0.26^***	−0.27^***	−0.29^***	−0.31^***	0.42^***	0.86^***	0.82^***	0.84^***	—
11. DLD (T3)	0.10^**	0.08^*	0.13^***	0.07	0.11^**	−0.07^*	−0.21^***	−0.15^***	−0.24^***	−0.23^***	—
12. PA (T3)	0.05	0.03	0.08^*	0.04	0.06	−0.13^***	−0.19^***	−0.09^*	−0.27^***	−0.21^***	0.79^***	—
13. Withdrawal (T3)	0.14^***	0.25^***	0.14^***	0.20^***	0.21^***	−0.29^***	−0.43^***	−0.27^***	−0.49^***	−0.46^***	0.52^***	0.49^***	—
14. Tolerance (T3)	0.14^***	0.20^***	0.14^***	0.16^***	0.18^***	−0.31^***	−0.49^***	−0.33^***	−0.50^***	−0.52^***	0.47^***	0.44^***	0.85^***	—
15. Overuse (T3)	0.15^***	0.20^***	0.15^***	0.18^***	0.20^***	−0.27^***	−0.44^***	−0.24^***	−0.42^***	−0.43^***	0.43^***	0.37^***	0.72^***	0.80^***	—
16. COR (T3)	0.19^***	0.21^***	0.25^***	0.25^***	0.26^***	−0.28^***	−0.40^***	−0.30^***	−0.49^***	−0.46^***	0.19^***	0.26^***	0.35^***	0.34^***	0.27^***	—
17. PSU (T3)	0.17^***	0.21^***	0.19^***	0.19^***	0.22^***	−0.29^***	−0.47^***	−0.30^***	−0.52^***	−0.50^***	0.75^***	0.74^***	0.87^***	0.86^***	0.78^***	0.52^***	—
M _boy	1.67	1.70	1.69	1.64	1.68	5.20	3.61	4.03	3.37	3.67	2.56	2.92	2.30	2.23	2.01	2.87	2.48
SD _boy	0.79	0.87	0.83	0.78	0.70	1.02	0.60	0.72	0.63	0.53	1.26	1.33	1.25	1.30	1.14	1.12	0.95
M _girl	1.69	1.73	1.71	1.71	1.71	5.12	3.64	3.87	3.46	3.66	2.24	2.53	2.02	1.93	1.69	2.87	2.21
SD _girl	0.85	0.87	0.88	0.84	0.75	1.02	0.59	0.74	0.61	0.56	1.15	1.24	1.06	1.00	0.79	1.06	0.76
F	0.13	0.36	0.13	1.51	0.53	0.99	0.64	10.03^**	3.77	0.14	14.59^***	19.65^***	12.34^***	13.55^***	21.29^***	0.00	20.13^***

Note. ^*p < .05, ^**p < .01, ^***p < .001. HFMR = Mother-Reported Harsh Fathering; HMFR = Father-Reported Harsh Mothering; HFCR = Child-Reported Harsh Fathering; HMCR = Child-Reported Harsh Mothering; HPT = Total Harsh Parenting; MIL = Meaning in Life; SCSR = Child Self-Reported Self-Control; SCMR = Mother-Reported Child Self-Control; SCFR = Father-Reported Child Self-Control; SCT = Total Self-Control; DLD = Daily Life Disturbance; PA = Positive Anticipation; COR = Cyberspace Oriented Relationships; PSU = Problematic Smartphone Use.

Analyses of the Hypothesized Model

The overall model was first analyzed without consideration of child gender. As shown in the output, the model fit the data satisfactorily: χ²/df = 1.83, CFI = 0.99, Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.95, and RMSEA = 0.03. HP was indirectly and positively associated with PSU via MIL and SC as two mediators. Notably, the direct path from HP to PSU was nonsignificant (β = 0.003, p > 0.05). Figure 2 displayed standardized path coefficients of the structural model. The total effect of HP on MIL, SC, and PSU were −0.37 (95% CI = [–0.47, −0.25]), −0.34 (95% CI = [–0.42, −0.25]), and 0.21 (95% CI = [0.14, 0.29]), respectively. The indirect effect corresponding to the indirect path from HP through MIL and SC to PSU was 0.21 (95% CI = [0.14, 0.28]), and the indirect effect of HP on SC via the mediator of MIL was −0.21 (95% CI = [–0.28, −0.13]). Based on the above results, multigroup SEM analyses were further conducted to examine gender differences in the relational patterns.

Figure 2.

Structural equations modeling diagram.

Multi-Group Analyses of Gender Differences

As the unconstrained model, Model 1 fit the data satisfactorily (χ²/df = 5.13, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.063, CFI = 0.958, TLI = 0.963). With factor loadings constrained to be equal across child gender, Model 2 still satisfactorily fit the data (χ²/df = 4.29, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.056, CFI = 0.960, TLI = 0.966) and did not significantly differ from the unconstrained model (Δχ² = 16.312, Δdf = 14, p > 0.01, ΔCFI = 0.002, ΔTLI = 0.003). Further constraining structural paths to be equal across child gender, Model 3 satisfactorily fit the data (χ²/df = 4.39, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.047, CFI = 0.974, TLI = 0.958) but become significantly different from Model 2 (Δχ² = 19.18, Δdf = 6, p < 0.01). Pairwise parameter comparisons revealed the existence of gender moderation of only one direct path from HP to SC. Thus, there are two indirect paths from HP to PSU for boys but only one indirect path for girls.

As shown in Table 2, Figure 3, and Figure 4, the direct path from HP to PSU was nonsignificant for both boys and girls, indicating that HP was only indirectly associated with PSU. Notably, HP was indirectly associated PSU via MIL and SC as two serial mediators, forming a common indirect path from HP to PSU for both boys (ind eff = 0.097) and girls (ind eff = 0.174). Moreover, the path from MIL to adolescent PSU was not significant for both boys and girls, indicating that MIL was mainly indirectly associated with PSU via the mediating role of SC.

Table 2.

Testing the Pathways of the Sequential Mediation Model (N = 828).

	Boys			Girls
	β	95% CILL	95% CIUL	β	95% CILL	95% CIUL
Harsh parenting (T1) → meaning in life (T2)	−0.36	−0.51	−0.18	−0.40	−0.52	−0.22
Harsh parenting (T1) → self-control (T2)	−0.20	−0.35	−0.05	−0.09	−0.20	−0.06
Meaning in life (T2) → self-control (T2)	0.49	0.33	0.62	0.65	0.50	0.77
Harsh parenting (T1) → PSU (T3)	0.05	−0.08	0.16	−0.04	−0.17	0.07
Meaning in life (T2) → PSU (T3)	−0.05	−0.24	0.13	−0.03	−0.21	0.20
Self-control (T2) → PSU (T3)	−0.56	−0.67	−0.41	−0.68	−0.90	−0.52

Note. PSU = Problematic Smartphone Use; 95% CILL = 95% confidence interval lower limit; 95% CIUL = 95% confidence interval upper limit.

Figure 3.

Structural equations modeling diagram for boys.

Figure 4.

Structural equations modeling diagram for girls.

It was notable that the path from HP to SC was significant for boys but not significant for girls. Thus, in addition to the common indirect path, HP could also be indirectly associated with boys’ PSU via the mediating role of SC (ind eff = 0.11), making SC more prominent as a pivotal linkage on the indirect paths from HP to PSU for boys.

Discussion

Although negative parenting has been a familial risk factor for addictive behaviors among adolescents, the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. Guided by the SSMMD (Skinner & Wellborn, 1997), we tested a two-mediator model of the potential impact of HP on adolescents' PSU. We found that HP was mainly indirectly associated with PSU via MIL and SC as two potential mediators, and the associations between variables differ across gender. All of these findings will be discussed in the context of prior research and their implications for prevention efforts against PSU.

The Mediating Roles of Meaning in Life and Self-Control

Guided by the SSMMD (Skinner & Wellborn, 1997), we found that MIL and SC could completely mediate the longitudinal association between HP and adolescent PSU. Specifically, the potential contribution of HP to adolescent PSU was mainly realized through two indirect paths. First, HP could be positively associated with PSU via the mediating role of SC. Second, HP might lead adolescents to feel less MIL, which was detrimental to their SC, and eventually increased their risk for PSU. These two indirect paths were discussed further by examining each of the linkages in greater detail.

The first linkage from HP to MIL demonstrated that HP was harmful to adolescents’ MIL and bolstered prior research suggesting that attachment security formed in parent–child relationships might foster a strong sense of MIL among adolescents by predisposing them to perceive their life as purposeful, directional and coherent (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2013). Therefore, HP may undermine adolescents’ sense of MIL through destroying their attachment security. This finding is also supported Janoff-Bulman and Frieze’s (1983) Shattered Assumptions Theory in that adolescents tend to hold general assumptions and expectations about themselves and the outside world (i.e., the self is worthy and the world is meaningful and benevolent), based on which they make plans and goals to guide their behaviors (i.e., leading a meaningful life). However, these assumptions could be shattered by stressful life events (Borwell et al., 2021) such as HP, which would decrease their MIL by impairing their self-worth and purposefulness in life, triggering their suspicion of the world, and damaging their connectedness with the world.

The second linkage sustained the important role of MIL in promoting the development of SC capacities. Conceptually, adolescents with MIL were more likely to perceive their life as purposeful, significant and directional (Ryff, 1989). Adolescents who experience a greater sense of MIL tend to have clear organizations of their daily life and clear goals for future (Koshy & Mariano, 2011), thus exhibiting higher levels of SC. Conversely, adolescents who lack sense of MIL should be uncertain about their lives’ values and goals, which potentially impair their SC because they have no specific targets as references to regulate themselves. Furthermore, individuals who lack a sense of MIL are more vulnerable to depression and anxiety (Steger, 2012), which have been found to disrupt one’s self-regulation (Bandura, 1991). This may be more likely the case in the context of HP when adolescents strive to eliminate their distressed feelings and thereby may lack resources for effective self-control.

The third linkage from HP to adolescents’ SC indicated that harshly parented adolescents tend to develop low levels of SC, supporting the view that parent–child interactions shape children’s SC (Morris et al., 2017). This linkage also enriched prior research indicating that parental harsh discipline could engender adolescents’ emotional dysregulation by repeatedly evoking their negative emotional state (Wang & Qi, 2017). Entrapped in emotional distress, adolescents may feel greater difficulty in exerting SC because of many resources having been used to cope with negative emotional states. This finding could also be explicated with social learning theory (Bandura & Walter, 1997), in that parents who harshly treat children set a poor example of SC for their children and deprive them of opportunities to develop adequate SC independently.

The linkage from adolescent SC to PSU formed one common linkage for the aforementioned two indirect pathways, and only through this linkage that HP could be associated with adolescents’ PSU, emphasizing the pivotal role of adequate SC in protecting adolescents against PSU. This finding sustained prior research that adequate SC can prevent adolescents from addictive behaviors (Cho et al., 2017). According to Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), deficient SC, characterized by impulsiveness and pursuit of immediate gratification, is an important aspect of addictive behaviors. By contrast, adolescents high in SC are better at inhibiting their impulses (Baumeister et al., 1998) and focusing more on long-term goals (De Ridder et al., 2018), thus less likely to develop unrestrained behaviors such as PSU. Integrating all of the above linkages, we found that HP could compromise adolescents’ MIL and their SC, finally eliciting greater levels of PSU among them.

The Moderating Role of Child Gender for the Model Paths

Although HP was found in our study to exacerbate adolescents’ PSU completely via their MIL and SC, there was one more indirect path for boys than for girls. For boys, the other indirect path existed from HP to PSU via SC. This finding highlights the important role of SC in transmitting the contribution of HP to boys’ PSU, which is consistent with prior research indicating that effort control plays an important role in the association between HP and adolescents’ school adaptation for adolescent boys (Wang et al., 2018). This gender difference also echoed Kremen and Block’s (1998) proposition that, due to different parenting practices enacted upon boys versus girls, boys tend to lack SC which results in more behavioral problems.

In addition, our findings revealed a greater ratio of the total indirect effect to the total effect of HP on PSU among adolescent girls. Gender differences in the joint roles of MIL and SC highlighted the more crucial roles of these two mediators in transmitting the indirect effect of HP on girls’ than on boys’ PSU. This finding might be explained by the self-construal theory, which holds that girls seek to maintain an interdependent self-construal (Cross & Madson, 1997). As a result, girls tend to suffer more negative effects from interpersonal stress, especially stresses in parent-child relations (Pomerantz & Ruble, 1998). Thus, harshly parented girls may be more likely to rely on mobile phone applications such as social networking sites to maintain social relationships (Liu et al., 2020) and compensate for their unmet needs in real life, gradually developing into PSU.

Research Strengths

The present study deepens the extant literature on the mediating mechanisms through which negative parenting could contribute to PSU, providing new insights into how to effectively cope with PSU during adolescence. Traditionally, Chinese parents typically hold such beliefs as expressed in the maxim, “spare the rod and spoil the child” (Qiao & Chan, 2005). However, along with prior research on the impact of HP, our findings demonstrated that parental harsh discipline could not effectively decrease problem behaviors among adolescents. On the contrary, it would destroy the development of MIL and SC among adolescents, which increase the risk for PSU.

A few strengths were notable. First, HP and children’s SC were all measured using both parent and child reports. This multiple-informant approach could minimize measurement biases by improving measurement stability and accuracy. Second, no prior research has considered the relationships between these variables under one comprehensive theoretical framework like the SSMMD (Skinner & Wellborn, 1997), especially gender differences in these model paths. Third, with a focus on students from rural areas, we could examine how the rapid spreading of the mobile phone use in rural areas can interact with familial risk factors such as HP to affect developmental outcomes during adolescence, which has been scarcely examined before.

Limitations and Future Directions

Several limitations should be mentioned when explicating the findings of our study. First, the sample of this study only involved middle school students aged from 11 to 15 years, which may restrict the generalizability of these findings. Although adolescence is a pivotal period for the development of MIL (Damon et al., 2003), different findings may exist for other age groups. Second, our mediational model of the impact of HP on adolescent PSU needs to be further tested in other cultural backgrounds so as to test its robustness. Profoundly affected by traditional Confucianism values such as filial piety, high levels of parental control over children, and emphasis on obedience are typical features of Chinese parenting (Ng et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2018). Such control and obedience have been found to mainly center on child’s educational attainment and are often viewed as manifestations of parental love (Chao & Tseng, 2002). Therefore, different relational patterns for our model variables may appear when tested among samples of western students. Third, PSU were reported only by adolescents. Although this self-reported measure displayed satisfactory reliability and validity as mentioned in the measure section, it still may be contaminated by self-reported biases. Thus, future studies are advised to gather objective data or data from parents to increase measurement accuracy. Finally, there are no clear cutoff points in this study for the measures of HP and PSU, which is a limitation of most relevant studies. Establishing clear cutoff points for these two variables would be useful for psychologists to identify parents with harsh discipline and adolescents with PSU, which can enhance our prevention and intervention efficiency. Despite these limitations, our study sheds light on preventive efforts to decrease adolescent PSU. Specifically, parents should consciously decrease their harshness toward their children, promoting the development of MIL and SC among adolescents. Meanwhile, school educators and psychologists should also consciously cultivate children’s sense of MIL and SC, so as to protect adolescents against PSU and other problem behaviors. Moreover, family psychologists can actively help facilitate effective parenting skills, and school psychologists can consciously direct teachers in how to cultivate self-control capacities and meaning in life among adolescents. A comprehensive prevention and intervention program involving school psychologists, teachers, and parents may be more efficient in breaking the vicious cycle of negative parenting and adolescents’ PSU.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Fund for building world-class universities (disciplines) of Renmin University of China Project No. 2020, and the Major Innovation & Planning Interdisciplinary Platform for the “Double-First Class” Initiative, Renmin University of China.

ORCID iDs

Jing Wang

Jingyu Geng

Appendix

Author Biographies

Jing Wang conceived of the study, collected and analyzed the data and performed manuscript draft.

Meng Li collected the data and provided the ideas on results interpretation.

Jingyu Geng provided the ideas on results interpretation and the manuscript structure.

Hongxia Wang provided the ideas on results interpretation.

Jia Nie assisted with results interpretation.

Li Lei reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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