Maternal phubbing and authoritative parenting: Latent profiles and associations with child behavioral outcomes

Abstract Objective This study aimed to identify different profiles of mothers based on phubbing and parenting and examined the effects of the different profiles on children's outcomes. Background Previous studies examined this mechanism via a variable‐centered approach, assuming its relationship is linear, without exploring the underlying typology of parents with various phubbing and parenting. Method From Shanghai kindergartens, 970 mothers of children aged 3–6 years were recruited. Participants completed the measures (administered via an online survey website) of parental phubbing, parenting style, and children's outcomes. The study identified subgroups by maternal authoritativeness and phubbing using latent profile analysis. Results Three profiles emerged: low‐level (11.13%), medium‐level (39.38%), and high‐level (49.48%) child‐centered parenting. Low‐level mothers who displayed the most phubbing and least authoritativeness reported their children faced more behavioral difficulties. Conclusion The findings imply remarkable between‐group differences in parental phubbing and authoritative parenting. High‐level child‐centered parenting contributes to reducing children's behavioral difficulties and increasing their strengths. Implications This study emphasizes the blending influence of parental media use and child‐rearing behaviors on children's outcomes in Chinese families.