Relationship between Parental Phubbing and Parent-Child Relationship Quality among Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical stage for emotional development during which a strong- parent child relationship is important for fostering healthy emotional regulation. However, with the growing presence of smartphones, parents often engage in phubbing which leads to implications for family dynamics. Phubbing refers to the practice of using a mobile phone during face-to-face conversations or social interactions. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between parental phubbing and quality of the parent-child relationship among adolescents from a sociological perspective. The current study also examined gender differences in parental phubbing experiences. Data was collected from 115 adolescents studying in various Indian schools using convenience and snowball sampling technique. Online google form was created consisting of Parental Phubbing scale based on Roberts and David (2016), Partner Phubbing Scale and Parent-Adolescent Relationship scale by Burke et al. (2020). Independent Sample t-test, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and Linear Regression analysis were used for data analysis. The findings showed that there were no significant gender differences in parental phubbing experiences among boys and girls. Hostility in parent-child relationships was significantly and positively correlated with Parental Phubbing. However, there was no significant relationship between Connectedness and Parental Phubbing. Parental Phubbing emerged as a significant positive predictor of Hostility in Parent-Child relationship among adolescents. The findings of this study have useful implications for families in balancing smartphone use with meaningful family interactions.