Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40155835›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

The mediating effect of parental monitoring in the association between parent-child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction: findings from a nationwide youth survey in China.

Ziyan Meng, Kaiyuan Min, Runping Ma, Juntao Yang, Hui Zhang, Qing Li

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Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ziyan Meng *School of Health Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Kaiyuan Min *Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Runping MaSchool of Health Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Juntao YangPlastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. yangjt@pumc.edu.cn.
Hui ZhangSchool of Medical Humanities, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. zhanghuiey@163.com.
Qing LiSchool of Health Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. liq8557@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe increasing prevalence of smartphone addiction among youth has raised concerns. Previous research has indicated that poor parent-child relationship can lead to youth smartphone addiction. However, parent-child relationship harmony involves multiple parties and is difficult to intervene in due to family authority and other factors. Focusing on the pathways between parent-child relationships harmony and smartphone addiction is crucial for preventing smartphone addiction. This study was conducted to examine the role of parental monitoring as a mediator and the role of self-control as a moderator in the association between the parent-child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction among Chinese youth.

methodsThe nationwide survey included 9,270 youth in the Chinese mainland. The data collected included individual characteristics, smartphone addiction status, parent‒child relationship harmony, parental monitoring and self-control were collected. Sample weights were applied to ensure that the composition of our sample was consistent with the official statistics for each provincial-level administrative division on gender and school type. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the mediating effect of parental monitoring and the moderating effect of self-control in the association between the parent-child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction.

resultsAmong the 10,000 weighted participants, 5,166 (51.7%) were male, and 3,608 (36.0%) were aged 16 to 18 years. Parental monitoring mediated 48.14% (95% CI: 40.24 to 56.03) of the association between the parent‒child relationship harmony and smartphone addiction. The partial mediating effect of parental monitoring was differed across gender and age groups, and there was no significant heterogeneity. Moreover, self-control negatively moderated the indirect effects of parental monitoring on smartphone addiction (β = -0.12, 95% CI: -0.57 to -0.38), and the mediating effect of parental monitoring decreased as self-control increased.

conclusionOur study explored the association between parent-child relationship harmony and youth smartphone addiction, which appeared to be partially mediated by efficient parental monitoring. Self-control played a moderating role in the indirect pathway of the mediating effect.

Indexed as

Behavior, AddictiveInternet Addiction DisorderParent-Child RelationsParentingSmartphoneAdolescentChinaFemaleHumansMaleSelf-ControlSurveys and QuestionnairesParental monitoringParent‒child relationship harmonySelf-controlSmartphone addictionYouth

Identifiers

PMID40155835
PMCPMC11951532

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.