Parents’ Phubbing and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: the Mediation of Anxiety and the Moderation of Zhong-Yong Thinking

Extant research has indicated that parents’ phubbing negatively affects adolescent development. However, no research to date has examined the association between parents’ phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration. Based on the model of hot/cool system, the present study constructed a moderated mediating model to test the associations among parents’ phubbing, anxiety, Zhong-yong thinking, and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents (n = 874, Mage = 14.07, SDage = 1.64) were recruited from one middle school and one high school in a city in central China. A total of 450 (51.5%) boys and 424 (48.5%) girls participated in the survey. The results indicated that parents’ phubbing was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, and anxiety mediated this association. Zhong-yong thinking moderated the association between anxiety and cyberbullying perpetration, indicating that the effect was stronger for adolescents with lower level of Zhong-yong thinking than their counterparts. The present study advances our understanding of how parents’ phubbing is related to cyberbullying perpetration. Education professionals and parents should pay attention to parents’ phubbing in adolescents, particularly for those with low level of Zhong-yong thinking.