Mediating and moderating effects of self-esteem on the relationship between academic stress and smartphone addiction of middle school adolescents

The goal of this study was to examine mediating and moderating effects of self-esteem on the relationship between academic stress and smartphone addiction. Participants were 1,303 middle school adolescents from 14th year Korean Children Panel. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and significance analysis of mediating and moderated pathways were performed using SPSS 21.0. and SPSS PROCESS macro 3.3. Results were as follows. First, academic stress showed a negative correlation with self-esteem. On the other hand, academic stress showed a positive correlation with smartphone addiction. Second, adolescents’ self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between academic stress and smartphone addiction. Third, adolescents’ self-esteem had a moderating effect on the relationship between academic stress and smartphone addiction. Based on these results, systematic and various programs should be developed to help adolescents cope with their academic stress and improve their self-esteem.