The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Mother-Child Relationship Quality and Cellphone Addiction in college students

Abstract

Background & aim: Cellphone addiction is defined as the excessive and compulsive use of cellphones and is always associated with negative effects on a person's emotional, social and behavioral development. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of satisfying basic psychological needs in the relationship between the quality of mother-child relationships and cell phone addiction in college students. Methods: The present correlational descriptive study was conducted in 2022. The statistical population of the research included all the students of Yasuj University in the academic year of 2021-2022 who used cellphones. For the sample size, 15 people were considered for each path based on Klein's opinion. To conclude, the sample size was estimated to be 335 people. The coexistence of the corona virus epidemic with the implementation of the questionnaire caused sampling to be done in a targeted way and through virtual networks (WhatsApp group). By sharing the questionnaires in the WhatsApp groups of university students' classes, 303 questionnaires were collected. The collected data were analyzed using statistical tests such as Pearson's correlation coefficient, regression and structural equation modeling with partial least squares method. Results: The results indicated that the standardized regression coefficient of the quality of mother-child relationships and cellphone addiction was 0.25, the regression coefficient of the quality of mother-child relationships and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs was 0.46, as well as the regression coefficient of the effect of satisfying basic psychological needs on cellphone addiction was 0.28. In addition, 17% of the variance of cellphone addiction was explained by the quality of mother-child relationships and 21% by the quality of mother-child relationships and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. The indirect effect of the quality of mother-child relationships on cellphone addiction through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs was 0.13. Conclusion: The present study contributed to the understanding of the possible mechanism of the relationship between mother-child relationships and cellphone addiction tendencies. Mediation analysis indicated that the satisfaction of psychological needs may be an explanatory factor for why negative mother-child relationships can cause the tendency to cellphone addiction in adolescents. Therefore, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs played a mediating role in the relationship between parent-child relationships and cell phone addiction.

Keywords

• quality of mother-child relationships
• mobile phone addiction
• basic psychological needs