Causal modeling of the role of parental neglect in the tendency towards adolescents' mobile phone addiction with the mediation of personal growth initiative

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Mobile phone addiction in adolescents is considered one of the fundamental challenges to development and mental health. This study aimed to model the causal role of parental neglect in adolescents' tendency to become addicted to mobile phones through the mediation of personal growth initiative.
Methods:  The present study is a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population included all male students in the second year of high school in public schools in Karaj in the academic year 2025, of which 300 were selected by cluster random sampling and responded to the scales of mobile phone addiction, personal growth initiative, and parental neglect. The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient tests and structural equation modeling using SPSS 25 and Lisrel 8.8 software.
Results: Findings indicated that parental neglect was positively related to mobile phone addiction (β = 0.42), while it was negatively associated with personal growth initiative (β = -0.58). Personal growth initiative also negatively predicted mobile phone addiction (β = -0.59) and significantly mediated the relationship between parental neglect and mobile phone addiction (β = 0.34). The model fit the data well.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that promoting personal growth initiative can play a protective role against adolescents' tendency to mobile phone addiction and, at the same time, highlight the importance of parents' attention to their children's needs in preventing this addiction.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 19 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 28 September 2025
  • Accept Date: 05 October 2025

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