Harsh Parenting and Adolescents’ Phubbing Behavior: Depression and Grit Matter

Phubbing is a prevalent behavior among adolescents, characterized by ignoring others while using mobile devices. To enhance prevention and intervention strategies for related issues, this study investigated 720 middle school students (Mage =15.57, SDage = 1.10) to examine the associations between harsh parenting and adolescent phubbing behavior, focusing on the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of grit. The results showed that harsh parenting was positively associated with adolescents’ phubbing behavior, and adolescent depression partially mediated the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent phubbing behavior. Furthermore, grit moderated the relationship between harsh parenting and depression. Specifically, a significant positive correlation between harsh parenting and depression was observed among low-grit adolescents, while this correlation failed to reach statistical significance among high-grit adolescents. This study revealed potential correlational mechanisms linking harsh parenting and adolescent phubbing behavior. It expanded the research on phubbing at the individual level and highlighted the importance of families in promoting the healthy development of adolescents.