Mother Phubbing and Child Problematic Media Use: The Role of Mother-Child Relationship and Paternal Coparenting

Jinghui Zhang,1 Mowei Liu,2 Qing Zhang,1 Yan Li1 1Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, CanadaCorrespondence: Yan Li, Email liyan@shnu.edu.cnPurpose: This study investigates the relationship between mother phubbing and preschoolers’ problematic media use, examining the mediating role of the mother-child relationship and the moderating effects of paternal coparenting. Drawing on the Interactive Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use and family system theory, we aim to identify key family dynamics that influence early childhood media habits. The findings could provide insights into mitigating the negative impacts of parental phubbing on children’s media habits and inform targeted interventions to promote healthier media use among young children.Methods: The study examined 1008 mothers (Mage = 35.58 years, SD = 3.90) with preschool-aged children (Mage = 4.59 years, SD = 0.92) who completed self-report questionnaires. Path analysis with bootstrap sampling was executed to assess the moderated mediation model.Results: Mother phubbing was positively associated with preschoolers’ problematic media use, with this relationship mediated by the mother-child relationship. Paternal coparenting moderated both the direct and indirect pathways in this relationship. Specifically, paternal coparenting directly mitigated the impact of mother phubbing on child problematic media use. Additionally, it alleviated the negative influence of mother phubbing on the mother-child relationship, thereby indirectly reducing its adverse effect on preschoolers’ problematic media use. Overall, paternal coparenting demonstrated a protective function against the negative consequences of mother phubbing.Conclusion: The findings significantly contribute to our understanding of how mother phubbing might increase the risk of problematic media use among preschoolers and underscore the potential importance of reducing mother phubbing and increasing paternal coparenting as integral steps to prevent preschoolers’ problematic media use.Keywords: mother phubbing, mother-child relationship, problematic media use, paternal coparenting, preschoolers