<p>This study aimed to examine the association of perceived parenting attitudes with smartphone addiction among adolescents, focusing on self-control’s mediating role. A survey assessing positive and negative perceived parenting attitudes, self-control, and smartphone addiction levels was administered among 973 middle school students. Among the respondents, 25.28% were identified as being at risk for smartphone addiction. The at-risk group reported more negative perceived parenting attitudes and lower self-control than the general group. Multi-group path analysis revealed that negative perceived parenting attitudes significantly predicted smartphone addiction through self-control in both groups, whereas the indirect effect of positive perceived parenting attitudes was not significant. Positive perceived parenting attitudes showed a negative association with smartphone addiction in the multi-group model; the path did not differ significantly between groups. Overall, the findings highlight the mediating role of self-control in the association between negative perceived parenting attitudes and smartphone addiction, suggesting that interventions targeting self-control may be relevant for adolescents across risk levels.</p>