The Impact of Smartphone Addiction on School Adjustment in Children at Community Child Centers: The Mediating Effect of Academic Enthusiasm

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of academic enthusiasm on the relationship between smartphone addiction and school adjustment among children in community child centers. To achieve this, we analyzed responses from 485 participants using data from the third wave of the Community Child Center Children Panel Survey conducted by the Korea Youth Policy Institute in 2020, utilizing SPSS 25.0 and Process Macro v4.2 Model 4 for mediation analysis. The analysis revealed that, first, smartphone addiction among children in community child centers negatively affects school adjustment. Second, smartphone addiction also has a negative impact on academic enthusiasm. Third, academic enthusiasm positively influences school adjustment. Fourth, academic enthusiasm partially mediates the effect of smartphone addiction on school adjustment. Based on these findings, we propose practical and policy-oriented solutions, including digital detox programs, alternative activities, counseling to enhance academic enthusiasm, and the development of school adjustment programs to prevent smartphone addiction.