Abstract
Although the potential implications of parental smartphone use for child socioemotional development have been widely discussed, few studies have used multi-informant longitudinal designs to investigate this issue. Therefore, using longitudinal data collected from mother-child dyads, this study examined the prospective indirect associations between maternal addictive smartphone use and child prosocial behaviors and emotional control via maternal phubbing. On two occasions separated by about 6 months, questionnaire data were collected from 315 Chinese mothers and their 4 th grade children (aged 8-13 years at Time 1; 50% female) studying in five elementary schools in Hong Kong, China. At Time 1, mothers rated their addictive use of smartphones and phubbing behaviors. At Times 1 and 2, children rated their socioemotional competence, including prosocial behaviors and emotional control. Path analysis indicated that maternal addictive smartphone use was positively associated with maternal phubbing, which in turn was associated with decreases in child prosocial behaviors and emotional control over time. Theoretically, our findings pointed to the possible role of maternal phubbing in understanding the prospective association of maternal addictive smartphone use with child socioemotional development. Practically, our findings might be used to inform family-based programs seeking to raise parents’ awareness of the potential relationships among maternal addictive smartphone use, maternal phubbing, and child socioemotional development.