The Relationship Between Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Smartphone Addiction: The Longitudinal Mediating Role of Parent-Child Attachment

This study investigated the long-term effects of parental monitoring on mobile phone addiction among high school students and examined the longitudinal mediating role of parent-child attachment. A three-wave longitudinal study spanning 1.5 years was conducted using the Parental Monitoring Scale, Parent-Child Attachment Scale, and Mobile Phone Addiction Scale. Valid data were collected from 405 students (grades 10–11) at a Chongqing secondary school across three assessments. The results demonstrated that: 1) Parental monitoring significantly negatively predicted adolescents’ mobile phone addiction over time; 2) The mediating effect of parent-child attachment remained consistent across different time points, indicating stability in its intermediary role throughout the study period. These findings suggest that parental monitoring not only directly reduces mobile phone addiction but also exerts an indirect influence by enhancing parent-child attachment. The study highlights the enduring protective role of parental involvement and relational bonds in mitigating technology-related behavioral issues during adolescence.