Negative parenting styles and problematic mobile phone use in university students: adult attachment and fear of missing out as chain mediators

This study aimed to investigate the impact of negative parenting styles on problematic mobile phone use among college students, as well as the chain mediating role of adult attachment and fear of missing out (FoMO). The short-form EMBU, Experience in Close Relationship Inventory, Fear of Missing Out Scale, and Mobile Phone Addiction Index Scale were completed by 1002 college students. Results showed that parental rejection and overprotection were positively correlated with college students’ problematic mobile phone use. The chain mediating effect of attachment anxiety(or attachment avoidance) and FoMO between negative parenting styles and problematic mobile phone use was significant. These findings suggest that negative parenting styles are closely associated with problematic mobile phone use among college students, and that adult attachment and FoMO play important roles in this relationship.