Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Early Adolescents&#x02019; Smartphone Addiction Severity: The Mediating Roles of General and Social Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Family Socioeconomic Status

Zhou Nan; Zang Ning; Wang Shaofan; Li Zixuan; Chen Ling; Li Beilei; Cao Hongjian

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240209

PDF(1218 KB)

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2) : 325-333. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240209

Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Early Adolescents’ Smartphone Addiction Severity: The Mediating Roles of General and Social Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Family Socioeconomic Status

Zhou Nan¹, Zang Ning¹, Wang Shaofan¹, Li Zixuan¹, Chen Ling², Li Beilei¹, Cao Hongjian¹

Author information +

History +

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have paid increased attention to the developmental sequela of early maltreatment experiences, including addictive behaviors. Emotional abuse and neglect are particularly influential in shaping children’s later socioemotional functioning because, compared to the other types of early maltreatment, they are more pervasive and their consequences are often not immediately observable. Notably, research on the link between emotional maltreatment and early adolescents’ addictive behaviors is limited in its primary focus on the direct associations, leaving the underlying mechanisms underexamined, and in its lack of differentiation between emotional abuse and emotional neglect.
Based on the addiction compensation theory, this study sought to examine the links between early emotional abuse and emotional neglect and early adolescents’ smartphone addiction severity using data from a sample of 844, 7th graders from H province, China. This study also tested the mediating roles of general and social anxiety given that they may exhibit differential roles in explaining how early emotional maltreatment may elevate the risk of early adolescents’ smartphone addiction. Specifically, early emotional abuse and emotional neglect may contribute to the formation of individuals’ shame-based cognitive-emotional scheme, which results in individuals’ habitual hiding from others and ultimately leads to social anxiety. Further, family socioeconomic status (SES) may also factor into the associations among early emotional abuse and emotional neglect, general and social anxiety, and early adolescents’ smartphone addiction. On the one hand, early adolescents from low SES families have limited resources that are unfavorable for development and thus the negative impact of early emotional abuse and neglect, such as anxious symptoms, would be stronger than those from high SES families. On the other hand, the lack of social support in family settings with low SES also may diminish adolescents’ resilience to cope with the consequences of early emotional maltreatment. Thus, the moderating role of family SES was examined in this study.
The present path models revealed that early adolescents’ social anxiety only mediated the positive associations between early emotional abuse and their smartphone addiction severity. Moreover, the mediating effect of social anxiety was only present in early adolescents from families with high SES. These results delineated how early emotional abuse and emotional neglect may uniquely relate to early adolescents’ smartphone addiction via their associations with general and social anxiety. The incorporation of social anxiety beyond the general anxiety highlighted the importance of differentiating the two types of anxiety as well as documenting their respective roles. Further, the results also point to the necessity of moving beyond the average population to further explore the potential heterogeneity in the currently examined associations across different subgroups. The findings provide insights for future trauma-informed interventions that aim to reduce the incidence of early adolescents’ smartphone addiction. Specifically, for early adolescents with early emotional abuse and neglect experiences, practitioners should attend to their potential anxious symptoms. Moreover, for early adolescents from high SES families carrying the burdens of early emotional maltreatment, special attention is needed because of their potential social anxiety issues.

Key words

early emotional maltreatment / early adolescents’ / smartphone addiction / social anxiety / general anxiety / family socioeconomic status

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Zhou Nan, Zang Ning, Wang Shaofan, Li Zixuan, Chen Ling, Li Beilei, Cao Hongjian. Childhood Emotional Maltreatment and Early Adolescents’ Smartphone Addiction Severity: The Mediating Roles of General and Social Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Family Socioeconomic Status[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(2): 325-333 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240209

References

[1] 高文斌, 陈祉妍. (2006). 网络成瘾病理心理机制及综合心理干预研究. 心理科学进展, 14(4), 596-603.
[2] 郭兰婷, 张志群. (2003). 中学生抑郁情绪与童年经历、家庭和学校因素分析. 中国心理卫生杂志, 17(7), 458-461.
[3] 何安明, 闫永田, 惠秋平. (2021). 主观社会经济地位对中学生智能手机成瘾的影响: 感恩的调节作用. 中国临床心理学杂志, 29(3), 510-513.
[4] 李大维. (2009). 低社会经济地位对儿童发展的影响研究综述. 学前教育研究, 3, 10-13.
[5] 李丹阳, 李蕤. (2020). 童年期家庭不良经历与个体成年早期生活机会的研究. 北京社会科学, 9, 13-21.
[6] 李颖, 贾涛, 宋志英. (2020). 儿童虐待和忽视综合性研究进展. 陕西学前师范学院学报, 36(9), 36-42.
[7] 林悦, 刘勤学, 余思, 周宗奎. (2021). 父母忽视与青少年网络游戏成瘾的关系: 希望的中介作用和性别的调节作用. 心理发展与教育, 37(1), 109-119.
[8] 项明强, 王梓蓉, 马奔. (2019). 智能手机依赖量表中文版在青少年中的信效度检验. 中国临床心理学杂志, 27(5), 959-964.
[9] 熊静梅, 张亮, 张福兰, 张天成. (2020). 湘西州城乡中学生健康危险行为差异性及干预对策研究. 体育科技, 41(1), 29-32.
[10] 薛敏霞, 舒曼. (2019). 家庭负性事件对“00后”大学生心理健康的影响. 济宁学院学报, 40(5), 92-98.
[11] 岳鹏飞, 张敏, 魏华. (2020). 童年虐待经历对网络成瘾的影响: 正念和心理弹性的作用. 中国临床心理学杂志, 28(6), 1144-1147, 1151.
[12] 张琴, 王耘, 苑春永, 张兴慧, 黎亚军. (2014). 网络成瘾与青少年不良情绪行为关系的性别效应研究. 中国临床心理学杂志, 22(6), 1004-1009, 975.
[13] 赵幸福, 张亚林, 李龙飞, 周云飞, 李鹤展, 杨世昌. (2005). 中文版儿童期虐待问卷的信度和效度. 中国临床康复, 9(20), 105-107.
[14] 郑健荣, 黄炽荣, 黄洁晶, 庄香泉, 王得宝, 郑淑仪, 吴基安. (2002). 贝克焦虑量表的心理测量学特性、常模分数及因子结构的研究. 中国临床心理学杂志, 10(1), 4-6.
[15] 周浩, 龙立荣. (2004). 共同方法偏差的统计检验与控制方法. 心理科学进展, 12(6), 942-950.
[16] Acock, A. C. (2005). Working with missing values. Journal of Marriage and family, 67(4), 1012-1028.
[17] American Psychiatric Association.(2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5TM. American Psychiatric Publishing.
[18] Beck A. T., Epstein N., Brown G., & Steer R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 893-897.
[19] Berman I. S., McLaughlin K. A., Tottenham N., Godfrey K., Seeman T., Loucks E., & Sheridan M. A. (2022). Measuring early life adversity: A dimensional approach. Development and Psychopathology, 34(2), 499-511.
[20] Bernstein D. P., Fink L., Handelsman L., Foote J., Lovejoy M., Wenzel K., & Ruggiero J. (1994). Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child abuse and neglect. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(8), 1132-1136.
[21] Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 371-399.
[22] Bu H., Chi X. L., & Qu D. Y. (2021). Prevalence and predictors of the persistence and incidence of adolescent internet addiction in Mainland China: A two-year longitudinal study. Addictive Behaviors, 122, 107039.
[23] Chi X. L., Hong X., & Chen X. C. (2020). Profiles and sociodemographic correlates of Internet addiction in early adolescents in southern China. Addictive Behaviors, 106, 106385.
[24] Counsell A., Furtado M., Iorio C., Anand L., Canzonieri A., Fine A., & Katzman M. A. (2017). Intolerance of uncertainty, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety: Differences by diagnosis and symptoms. Psychiatry Research, 252, 63-69.
[25] Dahl, G. B., & Lochner, L. (2012). The impact of family income on child achievement: Evidence from the earned income tax credit. The American Economic Review, 102(5), 1927-1956.
[26] Du H., Zhou N., Cao H., Zhang J., Chen A., & King R. B. (2021). Economic inequality is associated with lower internet use: A nationally representative study. Social Indicators Research, 155(3), 789-803.
[27] Dunn E. C., McLaughlin K. A., Slopen N., Rosand J., & Smoller J. W. (2013). Developmental timing of child maltreatment and symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation in young adulthood: Results from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Depression and Anxiety, 30(10), 955-964.
[28] Evans G. W., Li D., & Whipple S. S. (2013). Cumulative risk and child development. Psychological Bulletin, 139(6), 1342-1396.
[29] Faravelli C., Lo Sauro C., Godini L., Lelli L., Benni L., Pietrini F., & Ricca V. (2012). Childhood stressful events, HPA axis and anxiety disorders. World Journal of Psychiatry, 2(1), 13-25.
[30] Gama C. M. F., Portugal L. C. L., Gonçalves R. M., de Souza Junior S., Vilete L. M. P., Mendlowicz M. V., & Pereira M. G. (2021). The invisible scars of emotional abuse: A common and highly harmful form of childhood maltreatment. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1), 1-14.
[31] Goldberg X., Alemany S., Fatjó-Vilas M., González-Ortega I., González-Pinto A., Cuesta M. J., & Fañanás L. (2013). Twin-based study of the complex interplay between childhood maltreatment, socioeconomic status and adult memory. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 263(5), 435-440.
[32] Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford.
[33] Kwon M., Kim D. J., Cho H., & Yang S. (2013). The smartphone addiction scale: Development and validation of a short version for adolescents. PLoS ONE, 8(12), e83558.
[34] La Greca, A. M., & Stone, W. L. (1993). Social anxiety scale for children-revised: Factor structure and concurrent validity. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22(1), 17-27.
[35] Lewis, J., & Martin, A. (2020). Behavioral dynamics of depression and social anxiety in relation to smartphone addiction. Review of Contemporary Philosophy, 19, 78-84.
[36] Littleton H., Horsley S., John S., & Nelson D. V. (2007). Trauma coping strategies and psychological distress: A meta-analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20(6), 977-988.
[37] Lo C. K. M., Ho F. K., Emery C., Chan K. L., Wong R. S., Tung K. T. S., & Ip P. (2021). Association of harsh parenting and maltreatment with internet addiction, and the mediating role of bullying and social support. Child Abuse and Neglect, 113, 104928.
[38] Luk T. T., Wang M. P., Shen C., Wan A., Chau P. H., Oliffe J., & Lam T. H. (2018). Short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale in Chinese adults: Psychometric properties, sociodemographic, and health behavioral correlates. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(4), 1157-1165.
[39] Mennin D. S., McLaughlin K. A., & Flanagan T. J. (2009). Emotion regulation deficits in generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and their co-occurrence. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(7), 866-871.
[40] Menon S., Narayanan L., & Kahwaji A. T. (2018). Internet addiction: A research study of college students in India. Journal of Economics and Business, 1(1), 100-106.
[41] Nazligül M. D., Yilmaz A. E., & Griffiths M. D. (2021). Gaming addiction and exercise addiction: To what extent are they the same or different in terms of emotional abuse and/or emotional neglect etiologies? International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-20.
[42] Oral R., Ramirez M., Coohey C., Nakada S., Walz A., Kuntz A., & Peek-Asa C. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed care: The future of health care. Pediatric Research, 79(1-2), 227-233.
[43] Piontek K., Wiesmann U., Apfelbacher C., Völzke H., & Grabe H. J. (2021). The association of childhood maltreatment, somatization and health-related quality of life in adult age: Results from a population-based cohort study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 120, 105226.
[44] Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 36(4), 717-731.
[45] Shahar B., Doron G., & Szepsenwol O. (2015). Childhood maltreatment, shame-proneness and self-criticism in social anxiety disorder: A sequential mediational model. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 22(6), 570-579.
[46] Sun J. N., Liu Q. X., & Yu S. (2019). Child neglect, psychological abuse and smartphone addiction among Chinese adolescents: The roles of emotional intelligence and coping style. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 74-83.
[47] Warmingham J. M., Handley E. D., Rogosch F. A., Manly J. T., & Cicchetti D. (2019). Identifying maltreatment subgroups with patterns of maltreatment subtype and chronicity: A latent class analysis approach. Child Abuse and Neglect, 87, 28-39.
[48] World Health Organisation. (2002). World report on violence and health. WHO.
[49] Zheng X. D., Fang Z. Y., Shangguan S. Y., & Fang X. M. (2021). Associations between childhood maltreatment and educational, health and economic outcomes among middle-aged Chinese: The moderating role of relative poverty. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2, 105162.