The Mediating Effect of Emotional Problems in The Relationship Between Adolescents’ Dependence on Smartphone and Academic Attitude

This study investigated the relationship between adolescents’ dependence on smartphones, emotional problems, and academic attitudes. In addition, we aimed to explorethe mediating effect of emotional problems in the relationship between adolescents'dependence on smartphones and their academic attitudes (academic enthusiasm and academiclethargy). To achieve this purpose, the 4th year of the Korean Children and Youth PanelSurvey were used. The subjects of the study were 1,390 male and 1,200 female first-year highschool students. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. The researchresults are as follows. First, there was a significant positive correlation between adolescents'dependence on smartphones and emotional problems, a significant negative correlationbetween dependence on smartphones and academic enthusiasm, and a significant positivecorrelation between dependence on smartphones and academic lethargy. There was asignificant negative correlation between emotional problems and academic enthusiasm, and asignificant positive correlation between emotional problems and academic lethargy. Second,dependence on smartphones was found to be effective when the mediating variable, emotionalproblems, was controlled, and academic attitude (academic enthusiasm, academic lethargy) wasfound to have a partial mediating effect when emotional problems were controlled. Adolescents' dependence on smartphones had a direct effect on their academic attitudes,adolescents' emotional problems had an indirect effect on their academic attitudes throughpartial mediation, and adolescents' emotional problems had a direct effect on their dependenceon smartphones. Therefore, this suggests the importance of research and development ofprograms that can control emotional problems in order to reduce adolescents' dependence onsmartphones and improve their academic attitudes.