Objectives: The mobile phone (MP) is an indispensable digital device in adolescents’ daily lives in the contemporary era, but being addicted to MP can lead to more risk-taking behavior. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. To address the gaps in the literature, the present study examined the idea that MP addiction is associated with reduced self-control, which further associates with increased risk-taking behavior. In addition, this study also investigated the moderation effect of adolescent sex in the association between MP addiction and self-control. Methods: A three-wave longitudinal study, each wave spanning six months apart, was conducted in a sample of Chinese adolescents (final N = 333, 57.4% girls). Results: Results of the moderated mediation model suggest that after controlling for demographic variables and baseline levels of self-control and risk-taking behavior, MP addiction at T1 positively predicted increased risk-taking behavior at T3 through reduced self-control at T2 for girls but not for boys. Conclusions: Theoretically, these findings contribute to the understanding about the working processes in the association between MP addiction and risk-taking behavior in adolescents. Practically, the results implied that boosting self-control appeared as a promising way to reduce girls’ risk-taking behavior, particularly for those who are addicted to MPs.

Background and aims: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in adolescents is a concerning issue. Positive parenting has been found to protect against adolescent IGD, but the underlying mechanisms await further investigation. As such, this study examined the longitudinal association between parental involvement (PI) – a specific type of positive parenting understudied in the literature of adolescent gaming disorder – and IGD. Moreover, this study also tested consideration of future consequences (CFC) as a mediator and peer victimization (PV) as a moderator. Methods: A two-wave longitudinal research spanning 6 months apart was conducted. Participants were Chinese adolescents (final N = 434; 222 females; M _age = 14.44 years, SD = 1.56). They provided ratings on PI, PV, and IGD at Wave 1, and CFC-immediate, CFC-future, and IGD at Wave 2. Results: Descriptive statistics showed that the prevalence rate of IGD was 10.81% and 9.45% at Waves 1 and 2, respectively. Moreover, results of moderated mediation model found that after controlling for Wave 1 IGD and covariates, Wave 1 PI was associated with Wave 2 IGD via preventing adolescents who had higher levels of PV from developing a tendence of CFC-immediate and via promoting adolescents who had lower levels of PV to develop a tendence of CFC-future. Discussion and Conclusions: Altogether, these results suggest that facilitative ecological systems (e.g., positive parenting and good relationships with peers) and personal strengths (e.g., positive future orientation) jointly contribute to the mitigation of adolescent IGD.

Background: The interparental conflict has been associated with an increased adolescents’ engagement in risk-taking behaviors. However, few studies have examined the potential mediation of deviant peer affiliation and the potential moderation of school climate. Grounded in the ecological system theory, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of school climate between the association of interparental conflict and risk-taking behavior.Methods: This study conducted a longitudinal design (3 time points, 3 months apart) with the sample comprising 550 middle school students in southeastern China (52.91% males; mean age at Time 1 = 15.37). The performed measurements encompassed interparental conflict (T1), deviant peer affiliation (T2), school climate (T3), risk-taking behavior (T1/T2/T3), and demographic information.Results: The moderated mediation model revealed that after controlling for T1/T2 risk-taking behavior, T1 interparental conflict was longitudinally and positively correlated with T3 risk-taking behavior through T2 deviant peer affiliation. Furthermore, moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that a positive school climate ameliorated the adverse impact of deviant peer affiliation on risk-taking behavior, thereby mitigating the indirect effect of interparental conflict on risk-taking behavior among adolescents.Conclusions: Our findings propose a nuanced explanation of the processing mechanisms between interparental conflict and risk-taking behaviors among Chinese adolescents. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.