The Role of Parent–Child Relationships in Problematic Social Media Use and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents

This study asked whether parent–child relationship quality helps explain the association of problematic social media use with self-esteem and depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 115 high school students in China, aged 15–18. The questionnaire included the Mobile Phone Addiction Index and self-report measures of family relationships and mental health. Pearson correlations and two mediation models were estimated using PROCESS Model 4, one for each outcome. Students with higher problematic-use scores reported poorer parent–child relationships. Better relationship quality was associated with higher self-esteem, and the indirect estimate through relationship quality was significant for self-esteem. The corresponding estimate for depressive symptoms was not significant. The results support examining family relationships when considering adolescent self-esteem in the context of problematic use. They provide less support for the proposed indirect association with depressive symptoms. Measurements taken at a single time point cannot show whether problematic use precedes changes in family relationships or mental health.