Teacher–Student Relationships and Mobile Phone Dependence Among Adolescents: The Serial Mediating Roles of Peer Rejection and Anxiety Symptoms

Background/Objectives: Teacher–student relationships have been identified as a protective factor against adolescent mobile phone dependence. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain underexplored. The present study investigated the serial mediating roles of peer rejection and anxiety symptoms in the longitudinal relationship between teacher–student relationships and adolescent mobile phone dependence. Methods: A three-wave longitudinal design was adopted. Participants were 527 Grade 7 students recruited from junior high schools in China. Guided by ecological systems theory, stage–environment fit theory, and compensatory internet use theory, we assessed teacher–student relationships, peer rejection, anxiety symptoms, and mobile phone dependence using self-report measures. Data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro (Model 6) for SPSS. Results: Teacher–student relationships showed a statistically significant but very weak negative correlation with subsequent adolescent mobile phone dependence (r = −0.10, p < 0.05). Peer rejection and anxiety symptoms played a serial mediating role, such that teacher–student relationships negatively predicted peer rejection, which positively predicted anxiety symptoms, and anxiety symptoms positively predicted mobile phone dependence (unstandardized indirect effect = −0.008, 95% CI = [−0.019, −0.001]). However, the direct effect of teacher–student relationships on mobile phone dependence was not significant. Conclusions: Positive teacher–student relationships may indirectly protect adolescents from mobile phone dependence by reducing peer rejection and alleviating anxiety symptoms. Although the effect size was small, these findings reveal theoretically meaningful pathways and may inform the development of subsequent intervention programs. Prevention and intervention efforts may therefore need to extend beyond the individual level to the school ecosystem, with attention to supportive teacher–student relationships and a safe peer environment.