The Effect of Parents’ Negative Parenting Style on Aggression among Adolescents: The Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem and Smartphone Dependency

Abstract

Background: This study investigates the serial mediation of self-esteem and smartphone dependency in the relationship between negative parenting style and adolescents’ aggression.Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) and used the data of first-year middle school students. A mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes’ SPSS PROCESS Macro (Model 6).Results: The mediation of smartphone dependency was significant in the relationship between parents’ negative parenting style and aggression, but the mediation of self-esteem was not. Negative parenting style significantly affected adolescents’ aggression through the sequential mediation of self-esteem and smartphone dependency.Conclusions: Appropriate interventions should be prepared to help adolescents increase their self-esteem and reduce smartphone dependency, thus reducing the aggression that a negative parenting style induces.